Monday, January 14, 2013

Letter to Dennis Bonnen, 14JAN2013

Representative Bonnen:

Throughout your legislative career, you have been leading the charge in this state to outlaw various things you felt went against the sensibilities of the majority of your constituents.

Unfortunately, every instance of these occurrences has come at the cost of personal liberty to every citizen of the State of Texas. The time to correct this, Mr. Bonnen, is now.

In recent weeks, there have been numerous calls for everything from “Common-sense gun controls” to outright gun bans, and even confiscation of firearms and ammunition. This is your moment to take a stand, sir.

Will your legacy as a Texas legislator be known as “That guy who pushed to outlaw a mint plant they used to sell at Wal-Mart”, or “That guy who stood up to the federal government to protect our right to bear arms”? You have the opportunity to provide for Texas citizens the two things we have desperately needed from our legislator.

First, we need protection against the federal government's regulations regarding items manufactured in and sold in Texas. Our federal government is using the “Interstate Commerce Clause” as the basis of its unconstitutional regulations regarding the manufacture and sale of ALL firearms sold in the State of Texas, regardless of whether they were manufactured here or not. According to existing federal regulations, any piece of raw material having 80% or less of machining or finishing processes necessary to function as a firearm is not considered a firearm. It would stand to reason that if a raw material is not a “firearm” for purposes of firearms regulation, it is not a firearm for purposes of interstate commerce. I see no reason why we cannot statutorily declare that any item (firearm or otherwise) made in Texas and sold in Texas is not subject to federal regulation.

Second, we need protection against federal intervention and prosecution under unconstitutional firearms laws. If the federal government is not constitutionally permitted to regulate anything that does not meet the “interstate commerce” standard (such as firearms, ammunition, magazines, etc) manufactured and sold within the state of Texas, it would likewise not be constitutionally permitted to interdict, arrest, or prosecute based upon such unconstitutional regulations. According to Texas Penal Code Section 20.04(b), Aggravated Kidnapping involves the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon to knowingly abduct another person. Considering that an illegal arrest by any federal agent would almost certainly involve the use or exhibition of that agent's issued sidearm, I can see no reason why the statute could not be clarified to allow for a charge of Aggravated Kidnapping in an instance such as a federal agent using a firearm when effecting an unconstitutional arrest.

The rest of this is completely up to you. Will you uphold your duty to the People of the State of Texas, or will you allow yourself and the rest of us to be subjected to the whims of the federal government? Will you sponsor this legislation, or is there some other pressing issue requiring too much of your time?

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