I just read Brian Baker’s April 5th column, “Political Kabuki in the anti-gun debate, rants” and I note it is a column, not a letter and that his picture is included. How impressive.
Unfortunately I don’t agree with anything Mr. Baker has to say. I seldom, if ever, agree with anything Baker has to say but I am always glad to see his writing in the paper. Especially if it is about the weapons issue and it usually is.
Quite some time ago I wrote the Signal to ask them to please keep the gun issue on the front burner. After the last mass murder I felt sure there would be a great outcry and indeed there was a great outcry. There was a magnificent march but my concern was and still is that the issue would fade as it has always done in the past.
I was and still am afraid that politicians would pass some very fine sounding legislation that would really do little to reduce the problem but would seduce the general public into believing real progress was being made. It’s happened time and time again. We must not let it happen again.
I asked that if there were nothing in the news on the gun issue, that the Signal’s fine writers deliver a piece or two to keep the issue alive.
So it is that today I want to thank Mr. Baker for his every word. I want him to write often. I probably won’t agree with anything he says but that’s okay.
I know Brian won’t agree with me when I say we need to keep pressure on every member of Congress until they pass meaningfulL gun control measures, ones that ban automatic and semi-automatic weapons.
We have to get members of Congress to free themselves from the NRA stranglehold.
I think we can help them do it! Let’s begin by asking each member of Congress, every single one, to sign a pledge not to accept money from the NRA.
If they don’t sign the pledge, they don’t get our vote. Once some members have the courage to sign, others may follow and it could snowball until we could get a Congress that we can be proud of.
Will it be easy? Of course not. But I believe we can do it. I know we must try!
As for Mr. Baker…I look forward to his next piece.
Richard Myers
Valencia
