DFL Collin C Petersons Response to me.

View · by **goda0301** on Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:10 pm

Dear Mr. goda0301:

Thank you for contacting me about gun violence. I appreciate hearing your views as we seek to improve the safety of children at schools.

One thing is clear, before I support any new legislation I have to be sure it will do the job of making our kids safer. There are a number of legislative proposals out there that are merely cosmetic and won't do anything to accomplish that goal. Some folks want to put the focus solely on guns, but we also need to address mental health and the prevalence of violence in our culture through movies and video games.

As we seek to make improvements on the safety of our schools, we need to make sure that local school districts have the flexibility to use whatever security measures work best in their area without federal government involvement. We should also take greater care to ensure weapons do not wind up in the hands of the unstable or mentally ill. Congress passed legislation banning assault weapons in 1994, and it's clear that type of solution didn't get the job done. As a gun-owner I am familiar with high-capacity magazines, and I am skeptical that they can be controlled or the banning would have much impact in the real world. While I am open to sensible approaches to keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, I will not support criminalizing law abiding citizens who use a gun for sporting purposes or in protection of their own homes.

The safety of our children should never be put into question while they attend school, and rest assured that I will work towards practical solutions that increase their security. Again thank you for contacting me and sharing your views.

Sincerely,

Collin C. Peterson
Member of Congress

View · by **sansooshooter** on Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:23 pm

Seems promising. But who knows how much party politics will turn votes when the time comes! What is his past voting record on 2nd amendment issues?
Alot of whats going on now is aimed at the mid terms in 2014.

View · by **ex-LT** on Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:13 pm

sansooshooter wrote:Seems promising. But who knows how much party politics will turn votes when the time comes! What is his past voting record on 2nd amendment issues?
Alot of whats going on now is aimed at the mid terms in 2014.

IIRC, he's 'A' rated by the NRA. He lives in a largely rural district, and could quite possibly suffer huge repercussions for voting the "wrong" way on this issue.

View · by **farmerj** on Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:15 pm

nice form letter.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=40209

View · by **tman** on Tue Feb 26, 2013 7:21 pm

I got the same response this afternoon.

View · by **sansooshooter** on Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:38 am

ex-LT wrote:
sansooshooter wrote:Seems promising. But who knows how much party politics will turn votes when the time comes! What is his past voting record on 2nd amendment issues?
Alot of whats going on now is aimed at the mid terms in 2014.

IIRC, he's 'A' rated by the NRA. He lives in a largely rural district, and could quite possibly suffer huge repercussions for voting the "wrong" way on this issue.

Thanks for the info.

View · by **tman** on Wed Feb 27, 2013 4:03 pm

He's a "Blue Dog" guy.

Sent from my iPhone using that app which shall not be named.

View · by **Cavscout** on Wed Feb 27, 2013 4:26 pm

Seems promising, but 'DFL' is never a good sign for gun rights.

View · by **farmer44mag** on Wed Feb 27, 2013 7:30 pm

I also finally got the same response after sending about 8 emails to him since December. He has always talked a pro-gun game but has never been backed into a corner on the issue. He was elected after the 94 ban was passed.

He owns about 30 guns himself so that is a good sign. He has a trophy bull elk and a deer mount hanging in his DC office.

The line about "protection in their homes" is not so comforting--- apparently he doesn't think we need protection outside ( conceal carry). Perhaps I am reading too much into it-- at least he aknowledged self-defense in some form.