An open letter to:

Senator Dianne Feinstein

Governor Jerry Brown

Assemblymember Bill Monning (27th District)
 
Lou Calcagno, Monterey County Supervisor

Dear Senator Feinstein, Governor Brown, Assemblymember Monning, and Supervisor Calcagno,

I used to think, every day as I drove to work from my wonderful town of Aromas, how lucky we are to be able to drive around in the bubble of our cars in a free country, what a gift, what a privilege.

I'd think, how amazing to think we can drive around without fear of gunfire, with clean water, utilities so we can cook and stay warm, with a roof over our heads.  How unusual, considering most of the world can't do these simple things.  We could be in the mideast, or in another country, worrying about whether our parent or brother across town had electricity or water, without a way to contact them.  Just the struggle to know these basics define people's lives in war zones and many countries in the world.  As a small example of the chaos that reigns when our world shatters, we can remember how hard it was for us here in California after the '89 earthquake, and how hard for the east coast U.S. residents after and during the Hurricane Sandy.  What a gift to not have to worry every day about our existence.  What a luxury, to have a career we can focus on, rather than constant, gripping stress, wondering if our families will be safe.

Now I believe, due to gun violence, we are far behind in perceiving the threat to our collective safety.  We're at risk, without a method to ensure we are safe from gun violence. 

Our safety is a gift.  We are right on top of the danger of driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol or distractions, and methods of determining this.  But we are not 'getting it' with automatic weapons, etc. availability: since 2001 September 11, when we collectively woke up and united with each other as a nation, we can do this, we are ready to create  thoughtful gun use law now.  We need a meaningful modality in place regarding gun violence, and to determine appropriate gun weapon use.  Gun target practice, hunting with guns are clearly very different than automatic weapon availability and use.

Our state's minimal hospitalization and recovery period practices/laws for mentally ill is frighteningly short-sighted and also a necessary part of the gun violence discussion.   As you may know, "....In 2002, California passed legislation ("Laura's Law") allowing judges to order involuntary outpatient treatment for people with severe mental illnesses if they have a history....Short-term involuntary hospitalization was already legal in California in cases where patients had already shown they were a danger to themselves or others. But Laura's Law was touted as a preventative measure allowing family members, mental health workers or parole officers to request treatment for the ill before they do anything harmful, especially in cases where a patient's condition inhibits them from making rational decisions about treatment. The law, however, left it up to counties to decide if they want to implement it....Almost a decade later, only one of California's 58 counties has adopted it, Wilcox's Nevada County....." (from http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2098044,00.html#ixzz2IGidTAua).

Funding mental illness involuntary outpatient treatment partially from gun sales and other similar sales / use is an idea.  To offset cost, the savings by law enforcement via fewer mentally ill incidents, though harder to assess is significant.

We need to be our own agents for change.  I ask you to answer the safety from gun violence question.


Sincerely,


Catherine Kauer,
Monterey County Business Owner, Employer


Catherine L. Kauer

Landscape Architect No. 3526
Landscape Contractor License No. 892821

1300 Anton Place
Aromas, CA 95004-9758

ckauer@sbcglobal.net

408-202-9168
831-726-2340

kauerdesign.com

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