Open Letter to Gardner and Tipton

Open Letter to U.S. Senator Cory Gardner and U.S. Representative Scott Tipton

Dear Messrs. Gardner and Tipton,

You must be feeling a bit uncomfortable now. I looked it up on the ‘net. The NRA donated $5,950 and $18,950, respectively, in recent donations to your campaigns. That’s chump change, as we know. The real heavy lifting is what the NRA spends in your races. According the N.Y. Times they dropped $3,879,264 (2010) and $104,023 (2006) in your respective behalf. Even if the numbers are half right, that must be a heavy chain to wear. And the NRA knows how to yank hard.

But this March for Our Lives thing… In 30 days, Parkland students raised $3,478,377 in a GoFundMe campaign.

And did you watch Emma González? She fired off a speech like a beat poem, then stared down hundreds of thousands of people — in silence — for 4 minutes. This takes “Still She Persisted” to a whole new level. You could hear her tense breathing. I couldn’t see her hands, but I bet they balled into fists. She’s eighteen. She may very well outlive the NRA. You need to watch her speech, but it will make you… uncomfortable.

Consider that and, according to polling, the majority of Americans want stricter gun laws. That includes me, your humble constituent. Really, it’s time for you to do something that could drop your NRA-PVF rating down to a B-. And if the NRA drops their support for you, this might be your last term. But you represent your constituents, not the NRA.

At least you’ll have satisfaction of your pensions, federally support health care benefits, and knowing that you did something to protect student lives.

Sincerely, Frank Martin