Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/101651
Sarasota News Leader January 4, 2013 Page 45 it is appropriate to carry guns anywhere and everywhere and [ignore] the public���s right to know that they may be among people with legally sanctioned lethal weapons. Those who believe they have [a] right to live in a gun free environment where lethal weapons are restricted to law enforcement officers are treated as second class citizens and viewed as un-American.��� Some people carry signs while others hold candles, awaiting dusk. Photo by Norman Schimmel The letter to Buchanan notes its endorsers ���include hundreds of people of all faiths and political persuasions. We are citizens of Sarasota and Venice and we are your constituents. Most importantly we are Americans concerned about our country and the welfare of its citizens and communities.��� killed; Tucson, AZ, in January 2012, where U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was gravely wounded and six people were killed; and the Aurora, CO, shootings ��� including 12 deaths ��� in July 2012 in a theater where The Dark Knight The Sarasota News Leader was unsuccessful Rises was showing. in its attempts to obtain a response from Buchanan���s office. % The letter continues, ���We would also dispel the notion that the use of [assault-type] weapons to commit mass murders can be prevented by identifying the mentally ill early on before they have access to guns. Yes, recent mass killings with assault weapons were committed by individuals with mental afflictions and with suicidal/homicidal aims. However, people are the victims of gun violence every day and the perpetrators are not always the mentally ill. The behavior and psyches of human beings whose emotional states of anger, fear, jealousy, revenge, depression or any other dark mood that strikes them at the moment become highly lethal if combined with the possession and use of these killing weapons.��� The Alliance says in the letter that it also believes the Florida Legislature should change the state���s Stand Your Ground gun law. The letter adds, ���Conceal Carry laws assume that Signs call for a renewal of the federal ban on sales of assault weapons. Photo by Norman Schimmel