One person can make a difference

In a post entitled Common Sense Legislation in Utah, I told you about  H.B.78S01 that's pending in the Utah House. I decided to contact my Florida State House Representative Sandy Adams to ask her to support making similar changes to Florida's laws. Here's my original email:

 02/04/10 12:18 AM

To the Honorable Sandra Adams;

Please consider sponsoring, or promoting with others in the Florida House and Senate, Legislation in the Florida Senate that is similar to the current legislation the Utah House is working on. Here is a link to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune that outlines some info on the legislation: http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14295960

As a CCW permit holder and gun owner, I feel this type of common sense law will help protect law abiding firearms owners and CCW permit holders and provide us with more legal options in the event we are faced with potentially violent encounters. Providing options to de-escalate these encounters without the need for drawing a weapon makes sense to me. As always, gun owners should take every opportunity to take training on how to deal with these situations to achieve the best possible outcome: the situation is quickly terminated and no one gets hurt or killed. 

Responsible firearms owners and CCW permit holders are a valuable asset to law enforcement and the general public. I feel the state should support its citizens who take on this serious responsibility in order to protect themselves, their families and in some cases, other citizens who are unable to do in those critical times.

Best Regards,

Tom Trocine

To my surprise: I got a phone call from Representative Sandy Adams! After some voice mail tag, Sandy called my cell phone and we had a short discussion about my request, the process in Florida for this kind of thing and steps that Sandy would take to follow up, including working with the NRA folks.

I must say, I am still surprised and impressed that little 'ole me could actually stimulate positive action in the halls of government with a simple email. I very much appreciate Sandy taking the time to contact me about my request to learn more. I've contacted other Senators and Representatives, received the boiler plate reply with their on the fence position about whatever drop-down menu issue I contacted them about.

The fact that Sandy called me directly to find out more tells me there's at least one person in government that should be there and truly cares and takes an interested in what the people want and need. So there's a huge lesson here for all of us: Take Action, it does make a difference.

• Find the others like Sandy and support their campaigns
• Vote out the slackers and ones like Grayson
• Continually contact your Commissioners, Senators, and Representatives to tell them how you feel about issues important to you. This includes positive feedback to them that they are doing the right things.
• Do what you can to help educate your friends and neighbors on the issues so that they can add their voice and support.