Letter Sent to Peter Welch with 57 Signatures!

January 14, 2013

Peter Welch

United States Congress

Dear Congressman Welch,

We are pleased that you intend to work with the President and Congress to support legislation that would place restrictions on the sale of assault weapons and limit high capacity ammunition clips.  We ask that you take an active role in the efforts to achieve sensible gun safety legislation. We ask you, as a respected leader in the House of Representatives, to assume a leadership role on this important issue.

In a recent letter, you said, “In Vermont, we are fortunate not to have experienced gun violence on the scale of Newtown. And we have a long tradition of responsible gun use.”  While that may be true, it is no longer enough.

In the week following the shootings in Newtown, the sale of assault weapons in one gun shop in Windsor, Vermont rose from the usual five per week to thirty in one week. There is no rational reason for any private citizen(s) to have assault weapons in his/her home. Relying on good fortune to protect anyone, especially young children, from gun violence is not a “common sense solution” to the need for common sense gun legislation.

We urge the ban on assault weapons be renewed and made permanent. High capacity ammunition magazines, belts, drums, feed strips should be limited to 10 rounds of ammunition. Please support strong funding for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and encourage state and local officials to improve the inclusion of mental health records in this database.

As our representative, please join the efforts of Gabriel Giffords and support Americans for Responsible Solutions. Stand up to the National Rifle Association, refuse to be intimidated into inaction and we will stand with you and support you.

Yours sincerely,

57 Vermonters 

Letter to Speaker of the Vermont House

Today we sent this letter, with the signatures of fifty-five Vermonters from the Upper Valley. Our next letter will be sent to Congressman Peter Welch at the end of the week.

Shap Smith

Office of the Speaker

Montpelier, Vermont

Dear Speaker Smith,

In the aftermath of the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut, we are confident that you are as concerned about the safety of our communities as we are. The question that many in our community are asking is what action you and other state leaders will take in response.

We hope that you are willing to demonstrate the kind of leadership and courage that has begun to emerge in other parts of the country. A California State Senator, Kevin DeLeon, a Democrat, has introduced legislation that would require anyone in that state who wants to buy ammunition, for any kind of weapon, to undergo a background check. The individual would also have to obtain a one-year permit costing $50. And finally, the legislation would ban the sale of ammunition in California by mail.

That seems like a reasonable first step, particularly in our state where there are no background check requirements attached to the purchase of either guns or ammunition. Like California, Democrats in Vermont are in a powerful position through their significant control of the legislature. With that strength, we hope that you will be willing to lead boldly and join California in passing legislation that could set a model for other states around the country.

The tradition of public policy leadership from our small state of Vermont is a matter of great pride to many of us. It's a pride that we hope you share and will have the courage to act on.

Join us Wednesday, November 7

We gather in the library at the North Chapel.

 to collaborate, chat, cut, sew and laugh. We share stories, help each other and laugh.
In October we talked about the 
Khan Academy,
Hexaflexagons, 
Moebius 
and even 
Morning Joe.
The red words are all links, click on them 
and you will be taken to web sites where you can learn more about what we were talking about. 

We stencil albatross on patches made of ticking.

 We make bags and plans to gather again.  

Please join us at 2 o'clock, November 7, the first Wednesday of the month, in the library at the North Chapel, 7 Church Street, Woodstock, Vermont. 

 Make a Ticking Bag with pre-cut fabric squares and a ticking patches or bring your knitting, crocheting, stitching or other handwork. 

Come for conversation and laughter.  Bring your ideas, your stories and a friend if you like.

If you have ideas you'd like to share, questions or would like receive emails about the Ticking Bag Project, please send an email to TickingBag(at)gmail(dot)com

Replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .

There are no spaces in our email address.

A Ticking Bag

Come to the first Bag Bee, Wednesday, September 5 at 2 pm in the library at the North Chapel, 7 Church Street, Woodstock, Vermont. 

We will be making Ticking Bags that will be used to help clean up the the oceans of the world. Although it sounds complicated, it's quite simple. Every piece of plastic that's recycled doesn't end up floating in the sea, or worse yet in the gut of an unsuspecting sea bird. 

Take a Ticking Bag with you wherever you go and you will always have a place to put every random piece of trash you come across until you can recycle it.  

Now, about the Ticking Part 

A part of every bag will be a piece of cotton ticking

Ticking is handsome and easily identifiable, not to mention stylishly cool 

Ticking makes us aware of the passage of time

Ticking also suggests the bomb we're working to diffuse by our actions

Ticking is traditionally used for mattresses and pillows so it suggests the dream we share

For more information send an email to:

TickingBag (at) gmail (dot) com 

There are no spaces in the email address.