This group seems like it has the right ideas in mind. It is disappointing that the Mayor continues to miss Town Council meetings. Is it my imagination or do we read more about Acting Mayor than the real Mayor. And what about not responding. Mayor, how about the courtesy of a reply to the group? You don't have to agree with them or even join the council, though you should. They deserve to be treated like you would like to be treated; give them a courtesy of a reply.

Skibitsky is a joke. Riding out his term.

Call the Mayor's office and sxhedule a downtown Westfield store opening. He loves to promote Westfield First, to boost Westfield business. He also loves to get his picture in the local newspaper so the ribbon cutting ceremony will flush him out.

Banning the semi-automatic sporting rifle, the most ubiquitous rifle in America will not make anyone safer, nor will limiting magazine size. This is uninformed or more likely misguided thinking, a knee jerk reaction or King Bloomberg thinking. The Dept of Homeland security has just judged these as the best firearm for self defense. Since less than one percent of all gun deaths are caused by these guns, focusing on baseball bats, lighting strikes or something else with a greater chance to cause harm would save many more lives. If Karen wants to keep her son safe from "Army Artillery", then there should be no travel to South Korea in a time Machine since that was the last time "army artillery" was used.

Having two small children who will be entering the Westfield Public School system in a few short years, the events that occurred in Newtown, CT hit way too close to home on this one.

Anyway, I applaud Karen for taking the lead on this in our town and organizing a sit-down w/ our Representative - he clearly needs to know where his consituency stands on this issue. Ironically, I reached out to him on this issue this past Monday (first time I ever contacted one of my representatives/public officials), but have yet to receive a response.

And I too had to raise my eyebrows when it was evident that our town's mayor was absent from the list of local mayors who joined in on Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

It's disappointing to hear that he is being unresponsive on this issue as well.

Common sense is at war with partisan politics on this one. This minority who didn't see what happened in CT as the horror that it was, but rather a threat to their ownership of guns is organized and fighting tooth-and-nail against anything related to sensible gun regulation.

I can't relate to those people.

But what I can do is support the candidates who reflect my views on this issue and that's what I plan on doing 100%.

I am disappointed that Mayor Skibitsky has not responded to this groups request. I am beginning to believe that our Mayor does not represent Westfield as a whole community and is only concerned about his own interests and those of his inner circle. I wish that he could put aside his personal political agenda and see this for what it is. By not responding he is showing disrespect to his citizens and to the office that he holds. Very much a disgrace to our community.

NJ has had an assault weapons ban for many years. Stupid gun control laws don't stop criminals from obtaining guns. O.J. Simpson used a knife effectively. Many more die from other weapons including fists than guns. Maybe you should take your fellow whackos to Oakland or San Fran and sing "Kumbaya" to the locals.

We hope that something positive will push for effective and common sense gun regulations. Yes, there are deaths due to drugs, knives, car accidents, gang, and many others, but if better regulations can be in place and SAVE ONE LIFE, our efforts would definitely be worth it! V.L.

Congratulations to Karen Egert for taking the lead on this issue and meeting with Rep Lance. We need Rep Lance to be a strong supporter of President Obama's gun control initiatives. This is an opportunity for Rep Lance to show that he is a "moderate Republican" and will truly represent his district by supporting gun control initiatives rather than continuing to do what the NRA wants him to do.

I applaud the great effort being done by Karen- I would certainly imagine our Mayor will join the Bloomberg initiative protecting our kids is clearly our most important asset

Dear Mr. Pops Ferguson ,
If you read the article correctly you would see that I am referring to a federal ban on military style assault weapons. . The operative word here is federal . . And you are incorrect in stating that the assault weapons ban in New Jersey has been ineffective. Quite the contrary. In fact , statistics as far as the per capita death by firearms list the state of New Jersey is the fourth lowest in the nation.! NY which also has strict gun controls and a ban on assault rifles is the 5th lowest in the nation. Another FACT is that almost ALL Of the guns bought by criminals in New Jersey and other states that have strict gun control laws , are bought in states that have very lax gun laws and virtually nonexistent background checks.
That is why we need a federal policy which applies to all states because when you can going to any Walmart in Pennsylvania and pick up a military assault rifle with virtually no background checks then come to New Jersey into one of our schools and murder our children –. Mr. Pops that's a problem for me .

Dear All Residents,

I will handing letters of constituents who would like their voice to be heard to Lance directly in our meeting on Monday.
I am asking all who would like to have their voice to be heard write a letter-- even brief, email it to me as I will be printing them out to give to him personally
Please include your name and address. Send to karenegert22aol.com
Thank you for your support .....
Karen Egert

As I said in my earlier comment, 90% of firearms used in crimes are obtained in states other than New Jersey Which have lax gun regulations.. That is the problem. Handguns are obtained in states that do not have proper regulations and then brought into New Jersey and used to kill people here. That is why we need change on a broad federal level.
Please read carefully and stick to the facts

Ms.Egert,
I fully appreciate your efforts.You are not trying to abolish the Second Amendment, you are seeking its safe use.
Please ask Mr.Lance if he knows what percentage of the NRA funding comes from members and how much comes from gun manufacturers. Wouldn't it be safe to say that the NRA is a manufacturer's lobby rather than a grass roots organization?
As far as the Town is concerned, why not ask every person on the Council to introduce a resolution and then vote for it which would support the Westfield mayor's membership in the Bloomberg organization.That way they must each publicly take a stand.
A.John Blake

Mr. BlaKE,

Thank you -- One of the council members, David Haas, did just that at the last meeting and will be asking for a vote this Tuesday at the town council meeting regarding the Town council resolution. . The town council can sign on to support a resolution aside from the Mayor joining Mayor's against Illegal guns.
I will be at the town council meeting this Tuesday -- hopefully our "mayor" will show up to reside at his post. Regardless, I will be bringing up my agenda to the mayor AGAIN . I will be giving him till the end of the week for a response --yes or no.
I will give him to the end of the week to respond. If we DO not hear back from him by the end of the week , we will assume his answer is NO and we will be reporting that to the residents. That he refuses to join this reasonable effort.

Mr. Blake, why ask why when the answer is obvious. Each member of the town council,with the exception of Mr. Haas (D), is part of the bigger picture. That picture is painted by Mayor Skibitsky. Only a resolution endorsed by Mayor Skibitsky in private will ever be brought forth in public to be voted on will the results being a majority "yes",

Please view our website njresidentsforaction.com to get all the info about Lance's extreme position against sensible gun control and the votes he has passed in the House which actually LOOSEN sensible gun control laws, He voted to repeal a law which prevents firearms from being brought into National Parks.
So not only is he not helping this issue-- he is HURTING us with these votes and encouraging MORE guns while the state has been doing their job in trying to strengthen laws to keep NJ safe. . . It's important for our district to know what Lance is actually voting for and his publicly stated positions.
I have many friends, Republican and Democrat, who have voted for him in the last election cycle and have now said that his record with the NRA is enough to NOT vote for him in the next election --unless he decides to change. . They have said very plainly that if he does not come out stronger on this issue, he will LOSE their vote.

I agree with those who are asking our mayor to join Mayors Against Illegal Guns. I would hope that he would be happy to do so. Perhaps the ad from Mayors Against Illegal Guns during the Superbowl tonight will convince Mayor Skibitsky to join Mayors Against Illegal Guns. I would like to see our town listed as supporting the efforts of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Dear Mr. Blake,

ThaNk you for that FANTASTIC suggestion. I actually just looked up the info and found the the Violence Policy Center from Washington DC, reported the a whopping 74% of the contributions to the NRA are from "corporate partners" of the firearms industry.
So when Leonard Lance or any other elected official boasts that they vote 100% with the NRA -- that means they are representing GUN MANUFACTURERS NOT PEOPLE AND CHILDREN
We will be presenting these documents to the Congressman.

It seems that Mr. Skibitsky has absolutley zero interest in this community.
He needs to VOLUNTARLIY STEP DOWN .If he does not want the job, let him give it to someone who DOES

More people unhappy with Mayor Transparency with less support from the voters.

A friend told me to watch this segment on Bill Mahrs' show. (I never watch his show). But I would believe what Cory Booker has to say on the show

CORY BOOKER, NEWARK MAYOR (D-N.J.): To me, the data should drive our decision making. So I know, I’m not afraid of people having guns who are law abiding citizens. In the analysis of gun murders and shootings in my city, I could only find one in the entire time I’ve been mayor – and unfortunately there have been hundreds and hundreds – where a person who was involved in a shooting where they had their gun legally, where they legally acquired their gun. The guns that are causing carnage in our cities, my city and our country, every single year are acquired illegally.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2013/02/02/mayor-booker-legal-gun-buyers-arent-causing-murders-newark-and-chicag#ixzz2JrH3yNcn

To Mr. Fired Up -- What you conveniently leave out is that what you have said is only more support for what we are advocating for -- stronger federal gun laws. The issue is stronger gun regulations FEDERALLY. That's the Point . Are you not getting that ??
90% of criminals in NJ Get their firearms in nearby states with lax gun regulations. That's how they get their guns and kill people in New Jersey. Please read my former post which clearly states this fact and the need for federal regulations before you respond in such a manner that completely invalidates the facts that I provided.

Thank you A. John Blake for your comment.
This is why we have formally asked Leonard Lance for the Town Hall meeting--two months ago. . I filled out the necessary forms online ( 2 months ago), followed up with his Washington office directly , have been in direct contact with his Washington staff regarding a date and already have the Westfield HS secured as a site for the town hall . During the week of Feb 18, as Congress is not in session this is a week designed for Congressmen to go home to their constituents to hear their concerns. We had proposed several prior dates but now will be proposing a date during that week as Mr. Lance will be home. We will see what he says tomorrow and report back to you .

Dead Walkin Westfield ,
Your comment is absurd . If Adam Lanza did not have an AR 15 with unlimited high-capacity magazines he wouldn't have been able to shoot himself through a secure door and then proceed to execute 6 year olds by shooting them Multiple times with bullets thatvshatterer upon
impact. A handgun would NEVER have resulted in that carnage
How would he have gotten thougb the door in the first place?
Do any of you think ? You make no cogent sense

Thats funny concerned citizen , because last time I checked General McKristol was the former general of the US Command forces in Iraq. HE said the Ar-15 used to execute 20 children IS army artillery
But I guess you know more than as Army General .

Brad , Your arguments are ridiculous.
It's like you have to dig up things abd ramble on and on and on
You don't seem to be able to make even a complete cogent sentence .
You like Alasja ? Seems you would fit in well with the mentality of those of the likes of Sarah Palin ---. Empty

You should ask Mayor Skibitsky to be at the town hall meeting. Good luck getting a reply to the invite.

World English Dictionary
artillery (ɑːˈtɪlərɪ)
—n
1. guns, cannon, howitzers, mortars, etc, of calibre greater than 20 mm
2. troops or military units specializing in using such guns
3. the science dealing with the use of guns
4. devices for discharging heavy missiles, such as catapults or slings

[C14: from Old French artillerie, from artillier to equip with weapons, of uncertain origin]

I guess the General is not too smart if he said that. Are you talking about Gen McChrystal? Stanley A. McChrystal, You are quoting someone else, a Gen. McKristol. He must be in the Bloomberg army. You are quoting his and the other political talking points without doing any independent thinking for yourself.

Another knee jerk reaction because someone thinks they have the higher moral ground. Enough already! Taking guns and limiting lawful gun owners is not the solution! Address the real problem and tackle something that is difficult and no one wants to do and then I'll praise you.

Karen, being a single mother like Adam Lanza's was should be focussing on the real problem in society today. The breakdown of the American family. What mother in their right mind would allow her mentally ill son access to her legally purchased weapons? Why maybe because she wanted to be more or friend to her son than a mother? It happens all over affluent towns like Westfield too. We'll never never know the answer as to why, but HER bad judgement cost her and all those children their lives! Not the NRA or us legal gun owners!

I have to chime in here for a moment- Not sure why this has gotten into name calling,etc- All I know is that I applaud Ms.Eggert for getting the ball rolling to support the Presidents new legislation banning assault weaponry and doing whatever is needed to protect the students of Westfield. Clearly agents of the NRA (Leonard Lance's favorite lobby- look it up) have hijacked this article and that is not healthy for anyone. As I mentioned earlier I hope our Mayor signs on to Mayor Bloombergs pledge and Westfield stands with other local communities. Nobody is taking away the second ammendment- This is about common sense- Im sure Thomas Paine would have figured that out if he lived today and had a kid at Sandy Hook Elementary School. So let's stop attacking Ms.Eggert and start attacking the real problem in our society.

Now we hijacked the article? No! We are standing up for what we beleive in just like Ms Eggert is doing. Expressing our opinion is not healthy now? Just because you don't like our opinion? I hope the mayor keeps doing the right thing and using common sense instead of acting in typical knee jerk reaction so the left can advance their agendas. When people like yourself, Ms. Eggert, Obama, Feinstein, Bloomberg...etc start addressing the real problem...the breakdown of the American family and start promoting family values again maybe society would start improving instead of getting worse year after year!

No one wants to ban swimming pools...facts not fiction:
What’s more dangerous: a swimming pool or a gun? When it comes to children, there is no comparison: a swimming pool is 100 times more deadly.
In 1997 alone (the last year for which data are available), 742 children under the age of 10 drowned in the United States last year alone. Approximately 550 of those drownings — about 75 percent of the total — occurred in residential swimming pools. According to the most recent statistics, there are about six million residential pools, meaning that one young child drowns annually for every 11,000 pools.
About 175 children under the age of 10 died in 1998 as a result of guns. About two-thirds of those deaths were homicides. There are an estimated 200 million guns in the United States. Doing the math, there is roughly one child killed by guns for every one million guns.
Thus, on average, if you both own a gun and have a swimming pool in the backyard, the swimming pool is about 100 times more likely to kill a child than the gun is.

You know what I just realized w/ a simple Google search? A lot of these folks on here trying so hard to undermine Karen's effort have actually posted similar sentiments on Patch comments sections for towns all across the state.

Are you people even from Westfield or is this stalking/trolling thing, just, like what you guys do to further an agenda? That's kind of a sad existence.

Do you guys get paid for this? Serious question.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Let's be real, everyone is against illegal guns. No one wants another Sandy Hook. Whats the point of their organization then you ask yourself? They, besides King Mike, Hypocrite Feinenstein, Obama and the NJ pols want to make MORE guns illegal, like the ones that are legal now. When the gun violence does not stop, (which they already know it won't because they know banning assault weapons and large cap magazines won't do it and are not the cause), they will say It is handguns, semi-automatic rifles that are the problem, and will try to ban them too. And semi-automatic shotguns too. And ammunition. This is pretty plain to see. Just read the idiotic anti-gun bills the NJ pols are planning. The left uses demonization where logic fails them in their argument. It is pretty plain to see because the current argument and talking points do not make sense to most Americans. You deserve the government you elect. You are giving away your God bestowed freedoms that so many before have died for. It is a sad state of affairs and getting worse day by day. It's an Obamanation.

The reason we have these recent type of multiple gun deaths is due to mental illness. The government is at fault as they do not include the data in the federal NICS check.

Another other reason for the gun violence is the breakdown of the family, traditional values, the drug culture and lack of illegal gun enforcement, including the lax jail sentences. Chicago violence is not adequately dealt with, laws are not enforced, and I believe is this way to re-enforce the government's argument for more gun control, just as Obams/Holder's Fast and Furious was intended to do.

Let's talk about these since are the real problem.

The vast majority of gun owners are good people that conduct themselves as responsible citizens in a free Republic.

"We have seen the evil of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors in our midst; let us try prohibition and see what this will do for us." -- Thomas Jordan Jarvis

To all those who have a reasonable mind and are speaking reasonably,

I have seen ALL OF THESE SAME SCREENAMES OVER AND OVER ON EVERY BLOG , ARTICLE ETC. -- Aman77, Brad Scaeffer, -- etc . dont waste your time with their hateful comments. They follow me around like the plague. Why? Because they are intimidated.
They speak nonsense -- and they go on the same blogs--over and over again . They seem to have nothing else better or constructive to do than to reiterate the same ridiculous NONSENSE-- . Whatever you call it assault rifles, semi-assualt rifles ... together with magazine clips they KILL VERY QUICKLY AND WITH DEADLY ACCRURACY.......
Brad-- do you have children??? I have asked you this before . You never answered. Your silence is deafening.
If you DID , you might think how it would be to have a 6 year old blasted SIX OR SEVEN TIMES WITH THE KIND OF AMMUNITION THEY USE IN AFGHANISITAN!!!! THE bullet shatters upon impact and that is done over and over and over ... What is wrong with you ???? Are you like the tin man that doesn't have a heart? Or the lion who doesn't have courage? Or the Scarecrow who doesn;t have a BRAIN??
All of you who in the face of 20 babies who got murdered are using this post as a way to spout HATE should be ashamed . Ashamed.
Something tells me Jesus wasn't packing heat-- or Abraham .

And as far as mental illness --if they didn't have access to a military assault rifles and high capacity ammunition clips --THEY COULD NOT CARRY OUT WHAT MAY BE LURKING IN THEIR SAD AND TWISTED MINDS!!!
This is not rocket science. It's disgraceful that politicians USE anything to justify their unjustifiable positions. It is a disgrace on this country that COMMON SENSE is overshadowed by thinking such as from bullies like Brad and Aman77
Don't the two of you have anything CONSTRUCTIVE to do in your life? .

Ms. Egert. Please know that I respect your opinion and can see that you were deeply effected by the Newtown massacre. You are acting in the only way you know how and you are certainly within your rights to do so. But I have noticed that, as Mr. Schaeffer alludes to above, to an outside observer like myself your rather emotional tirades (really the only word I can think of) and your lashing out at even the mildest of serious critique--which anyone who takes on an issue so divisive must be prepared for--is losing your cause credibility, not the other way around.

I do not own guns. I am even not from this country though have lived here many years. But one aspect of America I love which is unique is you have an actual Bill Of Rights that codifies civil liberties and protects them against assault. I do not like guns, I see no reason for me to own one, but I do understand where many in this country come from and respect them. In the interest of fairness, after reading your post that caught my eye I reviewed the posters whom you name as being "hateful". Mr. Schaeffer's questions to you and his own indepth article which, if I may, seems to be much more researched and dipassionate than yours, are models of respect, introspection, and show a sincere desire to understand the issue in all its complexity. If you see vitriol in Mr. Schaeffer's article and legitimate questions to you (that you I must say have never answered) then perhaps your movement needs a different voice?

How do they expect their group to earn any respect when the leader of the group makes the comments she does on this site? If this is a serious group, they should consider a new leader.

Hi Karen, I want to start off by saying my name is Eric Gillette, and I am very public on the internet and participate in the gun debate frequently where possible. I prefaced in this manner to make it clear I'm not a troll, and am not here to "call you out" or anything of the sort.

I am merely here to maybe give you some perspective you may not otherwise hear from anyone or anywhere else (my assumption, please forgive me if this is incorrect after you witness what I have to say).

I applaud you in your passionate effort to try and reduce gun violence around the country first of all, however, I feel as others have pointed out here, that your efforts are misguided or at least misinformed.

I have school-age children (12 year old son and a 9 year old daughter) who both attend public school here in Florida where I now live. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and then my parents moved to New Jersey when I was in my teens (around 15 years old).

I joined the United States Marine Corps right out of high school, and after finishing with the Marine Corps, I then started working for a company called New York Life Insurance Company on 320 Lexington Avenue in New York City and moved to back to Brooklyn from my parents house in New Jersey.

(continued. . .)

(continued Eric Gillette. . .)

During this time, I rode around the city on the public transportation system to meet with my clients, and traveled very late into the evening many nights, and I felt very unsafe in doing so, as did my then girlfriend at the time (who later became my wife).

In checking into the law for New York, I later found that it was almost impossible for me to obtain a concealed carry permit in that state, despite being a law-abiding citizen living in a city with one of the highest crime rates in the country -- this (and the weather, as I got tired of shoveling snow constantly) is what prompted my move to the state of Florida after later starting the business I have now owned since 2002.

After moving to Florida, I obtained a concealed weapon permit, and also bought and own several guns, despite never owning guns or coming from a family who owned guns (my parents are both democratic/liberal in their political views, and don't have any guns in their home).

I have taken my children to the gun range with me to shoot, and have also demonstrated gun safety with them, and have informed them of and role played with them about what they should do in the event that violence breaks out and their dad (me) is forced to use his firearm to defend my safety, their safety, or the safety of others.

(continued. . .)

(continued Eric Gillette. . .)

While most in my family have believed this to be a bit of a "radical" approach, I firmly believe that educating my children on firearms, and firearm safety is the best pro-active way that I can prepare them for scenarios they may not expect.

In fact, after the Newtown tragedy, I sat my children down and explained to them what happened in Newtown, and explained to them ways that they could try to avoid becoming casualties of a similar incident should that take place in their own school.

Now Karen, I mention all these things to give you some background on me, and help you understand my school of thought, so that you know for sure that I am not here to attack you -- I just want you to understand things from the perspective of the unique position I have as both a father and a gun owner.

(continued. . .)

(continued Eric Gillette. . .)

My son, who is my eldest child, asked me after seeing Wayne LaPierre on TV saying we should have armed security guards in schools around the country, asked me, and I quote: "Dad, how come something bad has to happen in a school for them to put guards in our school?? Why don't they have guards before something bad happens??"

As I'm sure you can imagine Karen, I didn't have a good answer for him, and told him: "Well, there are a lot of politics involved, and some people think it's necessary, while others don't."

His words to me were: "Yeah, but while they figure it out, why don't they put the guards in all the schools for now so that more kids don't get killed."

This. . .from a 12 year old boy who is neither politically charged, and has not a dog in the fight concerning gun control -- but just his pure and simple common sense, while our legislators "debate" the issue and focus on things other than the real issues.

While I certainly agree with you that we (the people and the government) need to do things in order to help curb the scourge that is gun violence in our country, I don't think it's prudent to go after what some would deem as the "low hanging fruit" in the gun debate -- "Assault Rifles" for example.

(continued. . .)

(continued Eric Gillette. . .)

I own an AR-15, Glock 30 (which I carry daily), Smith & Wesson Governor, as well as a Ruger LC9 (which my lady carries daily with her).

I point this out because it seems the easiest target would be semi-automatic rifles for gun control advocates, and you pointed out how the shooter at Sandy Hook shot through the glass in the school doors before entering using his assault rifle.

Well, besides breaking every gun law that is on the books (he stole the guns, murdered his mother, and entered a gun-free school zone), I have to say Karen, if he hadn't used an assault rifle, and instead used a handgun instead, the effects wouldn't have been any less devastating. Shooting the glass with a rifle or a handgun would have had the same effect since .223 rifles and an average .357 handgun or .45 ACP handgun would have had the same effect on the glass, since they travel at roughly the same velocity. In fact, a .357 or .45 round are much larger than .223 rounds (the kind of rounds that an AR-15 fires), so the damage to the glass would have been immediate, and might have taken even less shots.

I certainly understand that you may not know a lot about guns and may never have fired one in your life, and I don't expect you to know a lot about guns or to ever shoot one if you don't feel like doing so.

(continued. . .)

(continued Eric Gillette. . .)

But Karen, the reason I mention these things, is because I really prefer to help you understand the truth, rather than debating facts, statistics, and other things with you.

I'd rather reach you as one parent to another parent, so that maybe we can discuss some good ways to accomplish something we both want for our children and the children of America in general -- less gun violence, while not making the lives of law-abiding gun owners more difficult.

Politicians are only concerned about politics, and likewise will be oblivious to anything that would hurt them politically, even if it appears to be what the people want (take your Mayor that you've pointed out here who refuses to return your calls, which I agree demonstrates his lack of respect for his constituents), but people like you and I and the others who have commented here are where the rubber meets the road. I believe if people like us can come to agreement over what makes sense, than we can set the example for our politicians.

That said, Karen, targeting AR-15's is not the solution to what amounts to a very large problem. . .AR-15's are NOT automatic weapons, and aren't any more dangerous than a Glock 30 for example -- in fact the only folks who have automatic or "burstable" (3 round burst) AR-15's are State and Local Police and the Military.

(continued. . .)

(continued Eric Gillette. . .)

An AR-15 can fire as many rounds as a Glock 30 or any other handgun can fire (depends on the shooter and his/her level of experience with said firearm) -- it is no more difficult to "fire a lot of round very fast" as someone else put it, from an AR-15, a Glock 30, or any other handgun or semi-automatic rifle.

Now that term, semi-automatic, means a firearm, that will fire one round, each time the trigger is pulled. . .this includes AR-15's, and Glocks, most revolvers, and some 1911's which have a single action trigger.

Karen, I'm pointing these things out to you in order to help you understand -- it is not my goal to patronize you, or to make you feel like I'm attacking you, again I'm here simply to point out the facts, devoid of the emotion and passion that usually surfaces in these types of discussions.

But that's what this is. . .a discussion, and not a debate, because I only wish to help you understand, since I understand (I think) what your goals are, and what drives you to pursue them.

Something I'd like to point out to you is that banning specific types of firearms, will not reduce gun crime -- the way to reduce gun crime is to improve education, since statistically, societies with higher levels of education typically have less crime.

(continued. . .)

(continued Eric Gillette. . .)

That said, I think what we need is a more though-out solutions to gun violence, and the mental infirmity or depression that causes them, instead of knee-jerk laws that help no one, yet affect everyone.

Women tend to be more emotional about things than men do, which isn't a sign of weakness as some folks have mentioned on here and attack you about, however, I believe that you're very intelligent, and that you are really here wanting to fight the good fight, which is why I have taken the time to write this response to you.

That said, I think what we need are more though-out solutions to gun violence, and the mental infirmity, depression, or other issues that causes otherwise ordinary people to commit horrific crimes with guns. This, instead of knee-jerk laws that help no one, yet affect everyone.

In the early 1920's there was a law passed that prohibited the consumption of alcohol by citizens (not politicians, since politicians usually exempt themselves from the laws that they expect us to obey and follow -- so they never really feel the effects of what is it they force on the rest of us).

This "ban" if you will, simply created an underground market, where criminals became the suppliers of alcohol, and in doing so, created the one of the bloodiest periods in American history as they sought to wrest control from one another over the black market that our government helped to create.

(continued. . .)

(continued Eric Gillette. . .)

Banning specific kinds, or firearms in general will simply create a black market for those types of firearms (or all firearms in the latter scenario), which will have the opposite effect of what it is you're trying to accomplish (since criminals will still have access to the firearms you're trying to stop, like AR-15's and so forth -- only law-abiding citizens will no longer have access to them, punishing the law-abiding for the acts of the lawless).

The problem with gun control laws, and firearm limitation concepts is that they are supposed to prevent criminals from committing heinous acts with firearms, which would work remarkably well, if criminals actually obeyed the law.

However, since criminals DO NOT obey the law (hence the term criminals), these laws don't do anything to deter them from obtaining firearms.

I agree with you that most of the firearms obtained from outside of New Jersey come from neighboring states, however, let's also point out that one of those neighboring states is New York, which has an estimated 1,000,000 or more illegal guns in their criminal black market circulation.

We can decide to discuss only where the guns originate from the beginning (i.e. my state of Florida, Pennslyvania, Virginia, etc) or we can also acknowledge the fact that there is a black market circulation as well, something politicans refuse to acknowledge.

(continued. . .)

Eric you could have wrote another 10 pages and it wouldn't matter. Karen is a left wing woman who marches to Obama's drum and only cares about advancing the left's agenda without trying to actually solve the violence problem in our country. She says she want's to protect children, but has yet to state her stance on abortion which has killed tens of millions of children since 1973.

(continued Eric Gillette. . .)

So while it most certainly makes sense to try and close the gunshow loophole (I agree with you on this, however, I'd like to see it done in a way that doesn't make it difficult, or impossible for smaller sellers to compete with the larger gun stores and shops), I think it is also prudent to execute the punishments that our existing gun laws have put on the legislative table.

At the same time, what we don't want to do is to make the lives of every day law-abiding gun owners more difficult, as this will only serve to divide our cities, states and country by people who believe gun ownership is a fundamental American right, and those who believe the 2nd Amendment is open to interpretation.

For a long time, like you, I believe the latter, until I considered the consequences.

I thought: "If we open the 2nd Amendment up to 'interpretation', what would happen to the other amendments?? Could our legislators also decide to open those up to 'interpretation' as well when they deem something to be inconvenient for them politically??"

In this life, Karen, through our pursuits, and impassioned ideals and goals, we have to be careful what we wish for.

I write this to you humbly, and seeking to start a real dialog on the gun control issue, rather than attacking you, or having you attack me.

Is this something you'd be willing to openly discuss on this public forum??

Sincerely, Eric Gillette

Mr. Gillette,

A very polite and well versed opinion that should make anyone think about gun control and the real world impacts of it on law-abiding citizens. You only make one mistake:

You honestly think Karen Egert is going to read anything that even has a whiff of logic to it? I guarantee you she will never read this or if she does she'll have her hands over her ears and scream "I'm not listening!"

You see Mr. Gillette. For people like Karen who have never shot a gun in her life and would no a bullet from a bull shot this who anti-gun control thing isn't about actually effecting positive change. It's about her filling a void in her life. It's about her desperately trying to be relevant. It's about her showing how much more morally superior she is to anyone because only people who agree with her really care about their kids. No neanderthal "gun crazies" like you. Don't you see? This is all about Karen to Karen. This is all about "look at me! Look how good and decent I am. Yay me!" Facts? Data? History? Psychology? Common Sense? What do they matter to people like her when she's found her pet issue, her cause, and now has something to sustain her?

You made a valiant effort. But you may as well have written to the palm tree outside. For lefty loons "gun control" isn't about guns at all...it's about CONTROL.

lol @ this NRA "call to action". You guys blew a gasket tonight. Very entertaining.

Hey, which of you guys were the ones heckling the parents of dead children at Newtown? I know it was at least one of you.

I can't help but think it is hilarious that Ms. Egert has lost her nerve to parent because of a school shooting. I guess she has too much time on her hands and/or is in need of anti-depressants. If this kind of thing unnerves her, she is going to have a quite a bumpy ride for the much of the rest of her life. And we will have to put up with her "movements" whenever some unsavory event occurs that involve children or adults who are the ages her children will become. Wait until her children are a little older and infidelity raises it's ugly head...

Yeah because a divorced mother wanted to be a friend to her mentally ill son instead of a mother and she allowed him access to her weapons. Real smart huh? So now to make Karen and her groupd feel better, while not even solving the problem with today's society as she has admitted, we law abiding citizens have to give up our rights so she can feel better? Aint happening without a fight!