I am a resident in santa rosa. Ive been a california resident since 1975. It pains me, and many of us that have to be here, and name from the past as some people in this room might remember charles wittman. Austin tower shooting. Since then, we have been on a path in this nation of moral degradation and the lack of god, lack of leadership at all levels right now. The lack of any kind of moral compass, as well as the lack of medical care for kids. In one of the things that is very unfortunate about a new town andorra and these other fans is that gun free zones do not seem to be a winning concept. I think that security is at some level an extremely good idea. We have more gun laws now than we know what to do with. You instructed us not to address the Second Amendment. That one phrase in there, to infringe, seems to be happening quite a lot lately. I have a lot of friends in town who have businesses that revolves around a Second Amendment. In this economy, i do not think we need to close any more businesses. Thank you. [applause] i am a Police Officer here. Thank you for coming out. Youre one of the few congressmen who is taken the initiative to do this. You called sandy hook begun tragedy. It was a human tragedy. A gun tragedy. It was not. It was a human tragedy. You lost for solutions. I am not going to stand up here and lecture asked for solutions. I am not going to stand up here and lecture. I will say i carry ar15 and my car every day. In my car every day. I find it deplorable that my wife may not be able to when i am gone. She cannot protect yourself, she does not need it, but i do, and you do . Everyone should have the ability to protect themselves if needed. The solution, i know you guys are doing the best you can with what you have they need more for Mental Health. I cannot tell you how many theyre doing all they can, but they need more. Parents need to start taking responsibility and raising their children so that i do not have to. [applause] my name is peter. I am occurred veteran, soldier in the u. S. Army. Current veteran, soldier in the u. S. Army. I agree with the personal responsibility comments and healt, Mental Health comments as well. No amount of background checks, limitations and restrictions will stop somebody who wants to read somebody else. I was stationed at fort hood. I had friends in that unit. Case in point with him, with Bradley Manning who went through some scrutiny, people are going to do what theyre going to do. No amount of restrictions, limitations on responsible citizens like myself and others will change that. I find it ridiculous that i can be trusted to carry an actual assault weapon overseas in a foreign country amongst children from other countries, and i can be trusted than to not create some type of international incident. This is when we are getting shot at every day. I find it ridiculous i can be trusted in that type of stressful situation to not open fire randomly, but i cannot be trusted youre among friends and family. Here among friends and family. Thank you. [applause] hello. Thank you for convening the storm. My name is curtis. This forum. My name is curtis. I am a gun owner. A hunter. A former nra member. I have very serious concerns about the inability to come up with a good definition for an assault weapon. Several people this evening have pointed out how difficult coming up with a definition is. I have a rather simple solution. Make semiautomatics illegal. Class them the same as a fully automatic weapon. I believe that for hunting purposes, it is not that hard to work a bold action or lever action bolt action or lever action. A lot of people prefer to hunt with a single shot. Magazine capacity, i see no reason for any more than three rounds. If you need more than three rounds when you are hunting, you need to spend some time at the range before going out. [laughter] that is all. [applause] my name is sharron. Sharon. Many thank yous to congressman thompson. Youre a brave and courageous representative for taking on this issue. I spent quite a bit of time over the last couple of weeks reading and talking about this on the internet. The number of Death Threats against senator feinstein is astonishing. These socalled lawabiding gun owners are making an awful lot of threats. We saw that on national tv last night with alex jones threatening civil war in america if he does not like the gun control that president obama and Vice President biden come up with. This is really upsetting to me, it is profoundly and american an antipatriotic unamerican and antipatriotic to threaten war if they do not get their way. Those threats are all over again discussions in this country. Gun discussions in this country. I would like one of your colleagues to speak out about this, threatening violence if you do not get your way is not part of a american way. [applause] thank you. I am from santa rosa. I have a daughter. Theyre studying this issue in the world history. 44 people were killed when a School Board Member plop the school plop the school. The issue is of violence. Blew up the school. The issue is of violence. From an analysis of 102 rampages, they were not a truck, they were not drunk, they were not on drugs. The analysis showed that most of them had Mental Illness issues. Also, most of them were unemployed. A significant number of them threatened violence prior to the event. I hope we can focus on solutions to address the Mental Health issue and our own economic issue that many of these events are started by. Thank you. [applause] thank you for hosting this. My name is laura. I was born nine months after my father returned from the board. War. He went to korea to fend off another bullet, also a gun control supporter. Bully, also a gun control supporter. I am glad that my father is not alive today to see this lunacy. I was prepared to come with facts tonight and some provide suggestions. I realized how pointless that would be. Even this committee that you care is focused on gun violence, which accounts for only 3 of Violent Crime in america. What about the other 97 of Violent Crime . Wheres the committee for that . Our government uses the horrific deaths of innocent children as a despicable ploy to present their own political agenda. The fear mongering among the media and our elected officials has deeply divided this country and driven us further apart than at any other time since the original civil war. And people afraid that were once again perched on the president s. I am afraid that were once again perched on the president s. Precipice. We see our children and grandchildren deployed at school. Bullied at school. But example do we give them . Do wet example give them . Thank you. [applause] harry johnson. My name is harry johnson. I do not have a purple heart, but i did serve in airborne. A former chief of police. A retired after 20 years a retired after 20 years. I retired after 20 years. Everything has been said that i had in my notes to say. With all due respect to the shirt, with my Law Enforcement background, sure, with a Law Enforcement background, it has been said the police cannot protect you sheriff, with a Law Enforcement background, it has been said the police cannot protect you. After 20 years with the courts, the courts are way too lenient to hold people responsible. It starts at juvenile age, goes to adults. We do not have the responsibility there. Rather than during any restriction or further restrictions on firearms, i think we would best be served by providing the resources towards the Mental Health people, and identifying and taking care of those issues first. Thank you. [applause] i am a little bit nervous. My name is brenda harris. I am a sinema county resident. Sonoma county resident. Why do avid collectors have to have bullets to go with them . I do not know if i am mistaken, but i believe Dianne Feinsteins bill that she onwants to submit allows for grandfathered and in. I think that should be eliminated totally. All assault weapons. Animals need a fair chance. They do not need to have helicopters with highpowered scopes and rifles killing. Like the gentleman said, three rounds of whatever. We used only have heroes and arrows years ago. Bowes and arose year ago. Lobbyists in an array should not run our country. Bows and good evening. I think you for calling this meeting. It has been long overdue. I met the over 20 years ago as a state senator and discuss these problems coming and solutions. I want to address that tonight. January 24, 1994, one week after this county, it exposed the fact that the cia is creating mind control projects to create killers in our country. It is all in the books. Child abuse. I discussed this in detail. Through thene District Attorney about this. We have the solutions. The fbi is covering of the use of these drugs. It tells you all about these drugs. He wrote the book those in the fact that they are doing this. Thank you. Here are some handouts for you. Could we please have mike dunlap . I was born here. My first gun i took to school for show and tell. I worked on a dairy ranch. Every kid learned how to deal with a fire arm. They knew which is not to point with anything you did not want to destroy. I would like to ask a couple of things. We want to get the violence out of the use of guns. I currently live in lake county. Last year we started a womens program. We have had a bunch coming out that have never touched a gun before. It has been extraordinary to watch the change and these women. Are we listening to me are watching him . Ok. You put it on the table that everything is on the table. I want to hold due to that. I do not want this to be everything is on the table the way that republicans were. Do not define what the middle is an start from there. Lets talk about the whole table. We need to resolve the issue. Everyone else here, thank you for the chance to comment on this gun violence issue. Pimm i am a constituent of nancy pelosi. Here in sanving a francisco. That is why i am here. Shortly after hearing of the massacre in connecticut, i posted a petition on the web at called ban assault weapons, all of them. Im here to present you with nearly 5000 signatures the people nationwide who have signed the petition. It is not done by an organization or a group. It is just me, a concerned citizen and those who share my view, a ban on assault weapons, all of them. Many use signed made comments. I urge you to leave through the comments. I will read a couple appeared as a former marine, i can guarantee very few if any civilians need anything like the assault weapons. Mental illness might be a good scapegoat to fix the blame, it is nothing more than a red herring. The real problem is the profits of these weapons generate. Thank you perce i will read the comments. Thank you. I will read the comments. I found this information. The Second Amendment was included in the bill of rights to ensure the individual maintained the right to defend himself and all occasions. The citizen is dependent for protection. What it your door is being kicked in and police are 20 minutes away . Educate yourself on how you can protect the Second Amendment. In england and australia comment that made it illegal for people to own a gun. All the criminals get their guns on the black market and the people cannot protect themselves. They are sitting ducks. If you take away the right to defend ourselves we will be in serious trouble. The schools obamas children go to have armed guards. Theyre thinking about hiring some police with guns. Shame on president obama for seeking more than control and for trying to bourbon the parents of other School Children from doing what his own do. In 1929 and the soviet union established guncontrol. From 19291953 thank you. Thank you. [applause] before you speak, sir, could we have 3 . Mike homer, larry, david haines, and bob smiley. Thank you. I am a retired teacher. I was a Junior College budget counselor for 45 years. This is foundational for all of us. The genius in this is the individuality to responsibility. Responsibility a means to respond to what . To what we think is good. Responsibility is an item not well considered in america because theres not a communality and understanding what is good for ouus and our citizenry. Ample input,be calmness, a compassion, that there be good judgment upon the legislatures and get other people out of the way so the operate from their conscious and heart. Let us all back on an ancient philosopher, aristotle. It is a little deep. It was spoken about 300 before christ. The best the is only a parent to be good person. It produces false views about principles of actions. We can not be prudent with out being good. Thank you. My rights ridges violated. I was told i cannot talk to my Public Officials with my cane and i need to walk. The Sonoma County court is out of control. I have been told to shut up. He should have seen it. It was horrible. I have a friend that was shot in the back, 19 years old. She is a cripple in a paraplegic. She carries a gun for safety which is her right. The Second Amendment applies to everybody. I believe you have the right to carry military grade tools around. Everybody has a right to carry these things. Only a well armed citizen army can sort of change of the government. She was shot in the back. He is getting out of jail soon. She was in a car with a man she was with for a couple of months. They have proved that she had no gun. They put her in jail anyway. This is what we have going on in our country. Out of control courts. There is a program for internment camps. You can join the army and become an employee of one of the camps. Dont forget your kaine. Right. Thanks. Good evening. I did not vote for you. And very much impressed. I would love to have a beer with you some time and talk manto man. The Second Amendment does not give us the right to bear arms. It is in down to us by our creator. In doubt it to us by our creator. The sediment the Second Amendment helps the government from firelight are gun rights. Three months ago i legally purchased and ar15. I go to the range of touchholes and paper. My family is safer. If there was some wind out of your shooting children will love to have my gun in their hands and the skills to operate it. The four shootings are at an alltime low. Coincidence . I do not think so. December 17 the shooting as san antonio, and man walked into a theater and started shooting. And our citizens stood up and shot him. There were no other deaths. When the Police Respond the average death toll is 14. When an armed citizen response, the average that toll is two. Good evening. I am a Second Amendment never geadvocate. I want to fix this problem as much as you. Some make firearms and assault weapons and rifles. Some ought to do this for each round the trigger is pulled. These are not assault weapons. Never work, it never will be. It refers to different types of fire arms and has different meanings and usages. An assault weapon is most commonly defined as a fire arm possessing certain features summer to those a military firearms. This considered a political drubbing catch phrase. Im one to get you copies of this. We need to stop calling the guns by the wrong names to think their weapons of mass killings. We do not need this below us. We need to force the ones before us. Thank you. Could we have crossed to word . Charles stewart . Thank you. This is about the Second Amendment. It is about whether this will be a robust amendment or an empty closet. The issue is about the definition of assault weapons. We were in the military. We both know what an Assault Rifle is. My concern is with the passage of the bill, what were going to see is only cosmetic changes. Were going to say no collapsible stocks will be allowed. How does the removal of a cosmetic effect on a rifle reduce its capacity to shoot in the rounds that it has . Highcapacity magazines may be reduced down to 10. The Virginia Tech shooter only had to run magazines at that time. The registration is up. There is the redefining of automatic weapons. This is us of civilians to next to nothing. Thank you. I am cross do it. Im a former school administrator. Charles stewart. I am a former school administrator. I know that im speaking to a largely nra audience. I am a liberal democrat. I want to speak in favor of an updated assault weapons ban, including highcapacity magazine ban. I like to speak in favor of any gun purchase requiring a background check and a license. This includes of gun shows which apparently have variously polls. Im going to cut to the chase. That is it for me. Thank you. I am so and press tonight with all my fellow citizens and their support. I am a gun owner. I personally, my definition of an assault weapon is any weapon pointed at me. I do not care if it is a single shot 22. After that were going this whole problem back word. If we look at the statistics, and they are out there. He came out. When he started that study he thought if we have less guns we will have less crime. I would encourage you all to look at that and to review it. Were under attack. We feel that youre going to take our guns away. What mean need is to lead by examples. Lean and mean this here in california. Let your assistance be educated and be part of your support. Thank you. All five more. Carlton, pam, and john materas. Good evening. I would like to think you and all your panels for taking the time to take the input from those of us. Not me tell you a little bit about my background. Ive been out here for many years. Im considered the tree hugger for california. When i am in california and considered a redneck with a gun collection. I can see both sides of the situation. What this issue brings out as the extremes on both sides. I hear friends of mine that are tree huggers telling me that we want to outlaw all semi automatic guns because they do not understand the difference between semiautomatic and automatic. When we talk about our rights that we always have, one thing we need t