Well, I'm Certainly on a List Now.

I just sent versions of this letter to Senators Kyle and McCain, Representative Jim Kolbe, the White House and to the Vice President:

Dear (fill in the blank):

This week I watched and read about the organized door-to-door disarmament of the remaining residents of New Orleans at the order of Superintendent of Police P. Edwin Compass III. His words were: "No one will allowed to be armed. We're going to take all the weapons." I watched elderly New Orleans resident Patricia Konie body-slammed by a police officer and forcibly disarmed, though she was no threat to anyone in the room. She specifically stated "I don't want you in here."

I watched a CNN report in which another resident, attorney Ashton O'Dwyer, asked "Has your neigborhood ever been invaded by state troopers from another state? Let them be warned. If they come to my house, if they try to evict me, if they try to take my guns, there will be gunfire." I believe he meant it.

I understand the sentiment. I am not alone. I am a blogger, one of the millions of people who run a "web log." I'm a particular type of blogger, in that I write about individual rights in general, and the right to arms in particular. My site is The Smallest Minority (look it up on Google, if you wish.) I'm a member of a group of self-identified "gunbloggers" that currently numbers about 90. Combined, we have a daily readership in the thousands.

Every single one of us is appalled at what we are seeing.

I'm a paying member of another on-line group, AR15.com. This is a discussion board with over 10,000 active members. In fact, as I write this the site informs me that there are over 4,000 people logged on to the site; about 1,500 members, and another 2,500 "guests" who are not registered users. There is a topic in the "General Discussion" forum entitled "The official gun confiscation thread." It currently runs 28 pages long. There are also threads entitled "Video of LAPD forcing evac of little old lady," (it turns out that the officer that body-slammed Ms. Konie was an California Highway Patrolman!) and "Two enlisted men, one Marine and one Soldier, would confiscate your firearms if ordered," (which is pretty self-explanatory.)

(Sir), I don't think people inside the beltway quite grasp what a hornet's nest has been stirred by the actions of the New Orleans and Louisiana state governments. There are a LOT of very angry people out here. There are people angry about the NOPD's failure to protect, people angry about the NOPD's mass resignations, the NOPD non-response to (and actual involvement in) looting, and now the forced disarmament of the remaining residents not only by NOPD officers, but by officers from other agencies, by (we are told) federal Marshals, and by National Guard units from other states.

Let me try to boil it down: There are a LOT of people in this country who believe in the individual right to arms. After witnessing the lawlessness that occurred in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, a lot more have joined our ranks because they finally realize that the government is not responsible for their protection - they are. And a lot of us believe as Mr. O'Dwyer believes. If anyone comes for our guns, there will be gunfire.

I urge you to take action on this. This must stop. Sanity must prevail, or the aftermath of the next natural disaster or terrorist incident in this country might make New Orleans look like a walk in the park.

Thank you for your attention.

I'm sure I'll get some nice boilerplate return emails, but I had to do something even if it was useless.