My 10 year old son attends an inner city school in Washington, DC. He is consumed with concern that another Newtown could place.

My right to not fear for my life, liberty and happiness trumps misinformed paranoids' claims to unregulated gun ownership. Do not let the railings of the rabid right prevent the voice of the majority of Americans from being heard. We support universal gun registration and a ban on assault weapons.

I know of many who have suffered from gun violence, suicides included over my 73 year life span--neighbors, relatives, school mates, children of my students.

Like the majority of Americans, I want my elected representatives to take strong steps to relieve the growing epidemic of gun violence. While no law or set of laws will end gun violence, we must act now to reduce it. I urge you to pass legislation now that would: • close background check loopholes to keep guns out of dangerous hands; and • ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines to reduce the risk of mass murder. These common sense solutions will save lives without compromising our Second Amendment rights.

Show some courage and listen to the voice of the people. Americans want some reasonable regulations on firearm transfers. If you continue to listen to the special interest groups, you better hope they can get you elected, we won't.

Almost six years ago, my daughter Emily was in French class at Virginia Tech when a gunman opened fire, killing her teacher and 11 of her friends and classmates. Emily was shot twice in the back of the head, but survived. Last December, after a gunman shot and killed 26 children and faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, politician after politician promised this time would be different and we'd actually pass meaningful legislation to help stop these senseless acts. But now all that's in danger of slipping away--because a group of Senate Democrats are possibly wavering in support of common sense measures like universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Enough! How many more mothers must suffer what I went through and the paralyzing grief the mothers in Newtown and across our country continue to suffer every day?

The pace of gun violence that continues in the U.S. is tragic and disgraceful. The dead, wounded, and grieving deserve action, not political posturing. Universal background checks and regulating the size of gun magazines are reasonable, constitutional measures that a large majority of voters support.

Did you know more than 20,000 Californians illegally possess more than 40,000 guns? And convicted felons can buy massive quantities of ammunition, no questions asked. California's gun laws are better than federal laws, but gun manufacturers exploit loopholes and law enforcement is under-resourced, leading to the murder of three Californians every day due to firearms.The LIFE Act stands for "Lifesaving Intelligent Firearms Enforcement." It's a package of eight bills under consideration in Sacramento.

Now that the federal government has failed to pass basic, common sense gun laws, it is up to the states to act. Governor Shumlin has said that Vermont's laws are adequate, but Vermont actually has some of the weakest gun laws in the country. We are currently lacking some of the most basic gun regulations, and the safety of Vermonters is at stake. - Vermont has the highest rate of gun deaths in New England – mostly by suicide. - Vermont has the 12th highest suicide rate in the country and the highest the northeastern U.S., the majority of which are carried out with a gun. - Vermont, despite its small size, is 16th in the nation in exporting guns later found in crimes throughout the country, and has the highest rate of exported guns per capita in the northeast. - Vermont does not require gun owners to make guns inaccessible to children, despite the clear correlation between accidental shootings and unsecured guns. - Over past 10 years, 50% of Vermont’s homicides have been domestic violence-related. In states that require a background check for privates sales of handguns, 38% fewer women are shot to death by their intimate partners. Vermont has lots of responsible gun owners, but as our laws stand now, there is hardly anything keeping an irresponsible person from acquiring a firearm and harming themselves and/or others. If the governor truly believes in a 50-state solution, he should help put Vermont on the map as yet another state willing to prioritize its citizens' safety ahead of the gun lobby's agenda. More statistics and our sources can be found at: www.GunSenseVT.org. To join the GunSenseVT e-mail list and be part of growing coalition of Vermonters in support of sensible gun laws, e-mail [email protected] with your NAME and TOWN.

The New York SAFE Act is a draconian gun control package that was passed without public debate or input. It infringes the Constitutionally protected rights of law-abiding citizens, interferes with commerce, deprives people of their right to use and transfer personal property, and creates unfunded mandates on taxpayers--all without preventing violent crimes or reducing their severity. The Putnam County Legislature rightly enacted a resolution opposing the NY SAFE Act, which resolution we now support with this petition.

My petition is about having citizens in our state to take part in enforcing strict gun laws in Hawaii. Yes I have, my friend's mother has been shot by a mentally ill person.

I started an anti gun-violence group here in our beloved, beautiful Tucson!