by Dr. Jeffrey Kaufman, M.D.
Dear Senator Sanders: You repeatedly refer to “gun violence.”
I have a problem with violence accomplished with any tool used against the innocent, helpless and those taken advantage of unfairly.
I see no righteousness in knife violence, violence threatened by force or intimidation, violence with hands and feet (the overwhelmingly most frequently used weapons), or any other tool including any media device used to terrorize others. Why pick on firearms?
In fact, Senator, I have a serious problem with your focus on the only Constitutionally protected weapon. I would expect you to uphold your oath of office and protect the 2nd Amendment and with it, the guaranteed rights I expect and those my fellow Vermonters expect you to protect.
I am very concerned that you turn your back on our needs in this dangerous time in our history. As the son of a Jewish mother, have you forgotten how the Nazis contrived to create an impression of public danger to “solve” their self made “crisis”, then confiscated the only functional protection available to and depended upon by German citizens: their firearms. We all know what came next, as an unarmed German civilian population was no match for the SS. Talk about ethnic cleansing, as freight car after jam packed freight car delivered our families and brethren to detention camps, but not for the mikvah (ritual bath) but showers of Zyklon B gas.
I could ask, Bernie, how could you forget? Please, show me you remember. Act as one who pledges “never again”. You carry massive responsibility in your leadership role. As our sage Rabbi Akiva asked “If not you, who? If not now, when?”
The author is a Derby resident.