Dear Senator Feinstein:

You say you want to ban certain firearms and restrict people from owning firearms in general. You call it ‘‘gun control’’ but in reality it is victim disarmament, because everyone knows that criminals don't obey gun restrictions. If you don't want citizens like me to be able to defend ourselves, then when we are in danger, what are we supposed to do?

You might tell me that I can call the police when a criminal attack is looming. You might tell me that I should rely on the police to protect me. If you told me these things, you would be committing a vicious fraud.

In California, the police owe no duty to protect me or any other individual citizen from criminal attack. It's a fact - not just my opinion. It's the law, as set forth in California Government Code § 845, and quoted in Hartzler v. City of San Jose, 120 Cal. Rptr. 5 (Cal. App. 1975), which says "[n]either a public entity nor a public employee is liable for failure to establish a police department or otherwise provide police protection service or... for failure to provide sufficient police protection service." Police officers essentially have no affirmative statutory duty to do anything! Even if the police had a legal duty to protect us, they can't be everywhere at once, so they can't protect everyone.

So, you want to disarm me and other lawful citizens, but you offer no other protection except a telephone number. If you think that dialing 911 is enough to protect my family and me, then will you personally post a bond to pay my damages if the police fail to respond to my 911 call? Will you reimburse me for my damages if the police don't protect me from a criminal attacker? Will you personally pay the life insurance bill for every citizen whom you disarm, so that their families don't suffer financial ruin when the breadwinner is murdered or disabled by a criminal?

I would like to get a response from you on this issue. This is not just a question about placing a signal light, fixing a pothole, funding a library expansion or zoning a subdivision - this is a life and death matter. Please let me know what you will do personally to protect me, my neighbors and my fellow citizens from criminal attack after you have made it difficult or impossible for us to possess handguns and other firearms for personal self protection as you do.

R. Dotson

Mr. R. Dotson
[My Address]
[City, State]

Dear Mr. Dotson:

          Thank you for writing to me to express your opinion. I appreciate your correspondence and want you to feel free to contact me in the future with any matter of importance to you. Congress faces many challenges and there is much to accomplish in the years ahead. I am committed to ending gridlock and solving the serious problems that confront America.

          If you have further questions, or if there is some way I can assist you in the future on other matters, please do not hesitate to contact one of my offices:

San Francisco:	(415)  536-6868
Los Angeles:	(310)  914-7300
San Diego:	(619)  231-9712
Fresno:	(559)  485-7430
Washington, D.C.:	(202)  224-3841

With warmest personal regards.