Sheriff Tom Sawyer
Merced County Sheriffs Department
2222 "M" Street
Merced, CA 95340

RE: Assault Weapons Task Force

Sheriff Sawyer:

         I am writing to express my profound disappointment with the recommendations made by the law enforcement management representatives on Attorney General Lockyer's Task Force. I outlined those recommendations in a February 10 letter to Special Assistant Attorney General DeAlba, a copy of which was provided to you.

         I believe that the proposal you supported denigrates my law enforcement career as well as the careers of all those who have, or are now serving as peace officers. When I retired from the Department of Justice, I purchased my service handgun - a Glock 17. As the co-chair of the Task Force, you made it clear that I and other peace officer retirees should not have the right to possess or use original magazines for the Glock or similar firearms. On a broader scale you seemed eager to impose a wide range of new restrictions on all semiautomatic firearms and their detachable magazines including the .22's used for "plinking" or training newcomers to the shooting sports. The "reasoning" used during the Task Force deliberations was that somehow public safety would be enhanced and that no one "needed" what the chiefs and sheriffs decided they shouldn't have.

         During the Task Force meetings, much was made about the dangers faced by peace officers. I don't need to be lectured about law enforcement or public safety. I can take you to the Peace Officer Memorial at the Capitol and point out the names of friends and my partner Gerald Regan. If that isn't enough, I'll show you the seven scars on my body where bullets entered or exited. What was missing in your deliberations was my concern for personal freedoms or property rights. You would deny both your deputies and your constituents the use of property they lawfully acquired. You would make them criminals if they didn't use their own funds to pay to have their magazines modified. The unspoken option during the Task Force deliberations was the surrender of the firearm accessories to the State, without compensation, if the owners couldn't afford the cost of conversion. Were I an officer or deputy working for one of the chiefs of sheriffs who supported the recommendations, I would rightly conclude that I was not trusted. I know that was my feeling as I watched the casual manner of the Task Force members as they opined about which of my rights I didn't "need".

         I suspect that even you may have misgivings about the Task Force recommendations. The unwillingness to put the Task Force work product into writing - or to admit that it was suggests that the recommendations may not have been well received. I also suspect that both Attorney General Lockyer and Senator Perata will take no action on the key recommendations because they are too extreme for even gun control advocates.

         While I disagree with the Attorney General on many firearm related issues, he deserved a work product that was more thoughtful and less threatening to the personal freedoms of both law enforcement officers and civilians. Benjamin Franklin framed your actions when he said "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."