Dear Mr Southerland,
Thank you for your interesting missive regarding the right to bear arms.
I assume you meant it to go to my near namesake, your constituent Mr Barry Woodhams, whose address is appended at the top of your email.
I, however, am Mr Ben Woodhams. I am not your constituent. I live in, and am a citizen of, the UK, where we have no right to bear arms. After a guy went into a school in Dunblane, Scotland, and murdered a class of 5 year-old children in 1996, we even decided that letting people wander around with handguns was probably a bad idea.
Of course, you may feel that a few school shootings here and there are a small price to pay for the ongoing lack of genocide and tyranny in Florida. I do hope they help in that regard, because if they don’t, well, I guess that’s just a bunch of kids dead for nothing, huh?
Regards,
B Woodhams (the other one).
Sent from my iPhone
On 31 Oct 2011, at 22:04, Representative Steve Southerland wrote:
October 31, 2011
Mr. Barry A. Woodhams
Curacao Way
Niceville, FL
Dear Barry,
Thank you for contacting our office regarding the right to bear arms, guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. I value your input on this important constitutional issue and appreciate the opportunity to respond.
Our country is blessed with freedoms unlike any other nation in the history of the world, and we must fervently defend these freedoms to ensure these liberties are protected into perpetuity. I am deeply committed to the right of America’s law-abiding citizens to own and bear arms. Our Second Amendment is a freedom I have and will continue to fight to preserve.
It is interesting to note that before most great tyrannies and genocides occurred in the world, the citizens of those lands were first disarmed. We must keep a watchful and wary eye toward anything that would take the United States down that same path. As the right to bear arms is a basic right of all American citizens, I am proud to be a cosponsor of the following legislation before U.S. House of Representatives:
o BATFE Reform and Firearms Modernization Act – H.R. 1093, introduced by Representatives Steve King (R-IA) and Jason Altmire (D-PA) would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena.
o National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act – H.R. 822, introduced by Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Heath Shuler (D-NC) would allow any person with a valid concealed carry permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms.
o Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act – H.R. 58, introduced by Representatives Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Dan Boren (D-OK) would remove several antiquated and unnecessary restrictions imposed on interstate firearms business since 1968.
o Second Amendment Enforcement Act – H.R. 645, introduced by Representatives Mike Ross (D-AR) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) would eliminate harsh gun control laws imposed by the District of Columbia after the Supreme Court’s decision in D.C. v Heller (2008).
o Veterans’ Heritage Firearms Act – H.R. 420, introduced by Representatives Dennis Rehberg (R-MT) and Leonard Boswell (D-IA) would provide a 90-day amnesty period during which veterans and their family members could register firearms acquired overseas between June 26, 1934 and October 31, 1968, without fear of prosecution.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I am humbled and honored you have afforded me the opportunity to represent you in the United States House of Representatives. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about issues of importance to you. Feel free to visit my Congressional website at http://southerland.house.gov or contact our office with any future concerns.
Sincerely,
Steve Southerland, II
United States Representative
Ben Woodhams 