Letter I just got from Congressman Collin Peterson

[farmerj]

Dear Mr. Edwards:


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.


Collin Peterson
Member of Congress

[redaudi]

Holy cow, a 'do it for the children' response that ISN'T idiotic!