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7 March 1989

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Nancy Pelosi
Longworth HOB, Room 1005
Washington DC 20515
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Tom Jennings
164 Shipley
San Francisco CA 94107
(415)-764-1688
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I'll keep this short, I know you are busy. This is in reference�
to the ``Berman Bill'' regarding the banning of semi-automatic�
firearms.

I admit I voted for Harry Britt instead of you, but it's not like�
I don't like you. I agree with you and appreciate the stands you�
have taken in issues that affect San Francisco. I am not a�
republican nor a gun nut. I've seen you in San Francisco Gay Day�
parades and other places. This is one subject I urge you to�
reconsider.

It's hard to have a rational discussion about guns; the NRA is�
just as hysterical as the anti-gun nuts. I own and shoot guns for�
target practice only (I call it ``the senseless murder of�
innocent paper targets'', to my anti-gun friends). I have no�
interest in hunting, and I acknowledge, though do not personally�
use them as, a potential tool for self-defense.

I am familiar with the hardware aspect of guns and other�
machinery. One side of the argument goes that it is easy to�
convert guns like the AK-47 to fully automatic ``machine guns'';�
while it is certainly possible, it is hardly easy, and requires�
expert machine-shop work, uses illegal parts, and no gunsmith in�
his right mind would do it.

Those not in their ``right mind'' do not seem to pay attention to�
laws anyways. I am a sane and rational person (as much as anyone�
else) and it is I who would pay the price of restrictive�
legislation. I have many friends who own guns of many kinds, use�
them for sporting purposes only, and because of the hysterical�
nature of the ``two sides'' of this argument, refuse to get�
involved. 

Please vote ``NO'' on on this! I wouldn't say I'd vote against�
you because of this one issue, but I will tell you that this is�
the first time I've ever written to a politician before; and that�
if things like this pass, perfectly normal people will own guns�
illegally, while actual criminals and nuts, the supposed�
``beneficiaries'' of bills like this, will hardly be affected.�
Please reconsider!


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Sincerely,
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Tom Jennings
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