From: JimPell@aol.com
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 15:23:20 -0400
To: ba-firearms@shell.portal.com
Subject: 2 Letters to San Jose Council members

For those interested in following the San Jose / Johnson proposals, coming
before the city council tomorrow, the following 2 letters were mailed today,
from...

Jim Pell, Ca. private investigator PI 16664 San Jose CA (408)263-1088
===============
letter #1:
San Jose, CA
August 14, 1995

Ms. Trixie Johnson
San Jose City Council
801 N. First St.
San Jose, CA 95110

In Re: OPPOSE USELESS GUN ORDINANCES

Dear Ms. Johnson,
I am informed that you have proposed city ordinances which would place
unnecessary and useless restrictions upon gun owners and licensed gun dealers
within San Jose. I'd rather you focused on the violent criminals, and I
include some persuasive material here that deserves your attention.
I assume that your motivations are sincere; that you, like me, are furious
and disgusted with gang and other criminal use of guns. But the approach you
suggest will do nothing to reduce this problem, and instead unfairly vilifies
our gun-owning community who appreciate and respect guns and gun ownership,
whether for political, aesthetic or pragmatic reasons. We are clearly not the
problem, and we shouln't have to suffer legislation that suggests otherwise.
Please review the enclosed reprint of the recent report of similar
discussions in Contra Costa county. Many of the issues apply to your
proposal. The report is thoroughly referenced, and worth keeping.
Thank you for your consideration. I make an additional offer: I am a former
peace officer and an NRA-certified firearms instructor, and I would be happy
to visit you, privately and at your convenience, to answer any questions you
may have regarding firearms.
Sincerely,
Jim Pell
cc: Margie Fernandes (to whom I make the same offer.)
encl: "Targeting Deceit..." 1995 report by Doctors for Integrity in Policy
Research, Inc.

===============
letter #2
Ms. Margie Fernendes
San Jose City Council
801 N. First St.
San Jose CA 95110

In Re:  OPPOSE USELESS GUN ORDINANCES

Dear Ms. Fernandes,
You know there is a political maelstrom in America today over gun control vs.
the right to keep and bear arms. It is a small reflection of the larger
discussion of too-big and too-intrusive government, and the return of
political power to individuals, and to local self-government.
I find the arguments in favor of gun control to be well-intentioned but
specious, and I regard them as living proof of the tendency of government to
micro-manage our lives and to flatly deny or contradict known human
inclinations in favor of the politically correct.
It is my opinion that the proposals by Ms. Johnson now before the San Jose
city council to further restrict firearms dealers are of that same ilk. San
Jose (and America, for that matter) does not need more laws that legislate
the opinions of the uninformed, with no effect on the problem.
You and I are no doubt both horrified at the recent murder of a young college
student in downtown San Jose by a gun-wielding hoodlum. Please take care not
to let this affect your better judgment about where the problem actually
lies, and what will actually affect the public safety. Please vote against
the Johnson proposals.
I hope you appreciate that government, and representatives like yourself, are
not required to "do something regardless" every time a problem arises. There
may be, as in this case, more wisdom in avoiding useless and intrusive
legislation. Far better to apply existing laws against the violent persons in
our midst.
The Johnson proposals will not affect me personally -- I am not myself an FFL
nor do I buy from those who sell out of their homes. But it is just as
certain that such legislation can have no beneficial effect upon the homicide
rate downtown. Let's not kid ourselves.
Sincerely,
Jim Pell