The following is a letter from Sheriff
James Mele to the President of the United States outlining his stand
on gun control legislation.
January 22, 2013
The White House
1600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington,
DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
As the elected
Sheriff of Tuolumne County, like you, I have taken an oath to protect and
defend the Constitution of the United
States of America. I, like you, take this oath very seriously
and I have the upmost respect for you and Vice President Biden. We as leaders
should never allow the rights and freedoms that are provided for by the
Constitution of the United
States of America, to be threatened or
infringed upon.
Our forefathers
felt that among the most important rights one could have, are the freedom of
speech and religion. They felt so
strongly that they made this the first amendment to our constitution. To
protect that right, they felt that the second amendment was needed to have the
right to bear arms.
I believe that
every law abiding adult citizen has the right to own, possess, use, keep and
bear firearms. The Supreme Court of the United States of America
has ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess
and carry firearms. In the two Supreme
Court Decisions, (District of Columbia v. Heller-2008) and (McDonald
v. Chicago-2010), the Court issued these two landmark decisions officially
establishing this right.
There is no
doubt there have been several acts of senseless violence; sadly, perpetrated
against those we as a society cherish most, our children. However to use a broad sweeping brush on the
majority of law abiding citizens in America is not right.
Let us not look
at trying to enact useless and unnecessary legislation targeting those
Americans who are law-abiding citizens.
Because sir, in my 25 years in law enforcement, I have not seen one gun
law that kept a criminal from breaking the law. California has some of the strictest gun
laws in the country. Even in our small rural county, we are taking guns off of
our streets, not from law abiding citizens, but those who don’t care about the
laws.
In closing we
will continue our fight for that which is right and that, is to protect and to
serve the citizens of this County. I and the young hero’s that serve our
community, will not take guns from law-abiding citizens who have the right to
protect themselves and their families.
Sincerely,
James W. Mele
Tuolumne County