Answer to letter
I would like to point out some omissions from the letter Armed, but ‘disciplined’ in Friday’s paper, by Mr. Jiben Roy.
As a responsible gun owner — and most of us are because we’re law-abiding citizens — none of us wants to see the needless killings that have happened over the last several years. Mr. Roy quotes Stephen King’s opinion that the NRA board should be drafted to clean up the “mess” after every mass shooting. Really?
Consider this. In almost every instance, the killings occurred in “gun-free zones.” This means law-abiding citizens, who have obtained permits to carry weapons concealed, will obey the law and leave their firearms in their vehicles or at home, where the firearms can do absolutely nobody any good.
However, even the most mentally incompetent/intellectually challenged/crazy person understands this, and knows that if he decides to go on a rampage in a “gun-free zone,” there will most likely be no one there who can stop him. Is that clear enough and simple enough for you to understand? I wish politicians could grasp that simple fact.
In every case the shooters obtained their weapons legally, or violated existing laws to purchase them, or stole them from legal owners. Does anybody really think that we need more/new anti-gun laws, when we don’t enforce the ones we already have?
You are correct that the Second Amendment guarantees every American citizen the right to own and carry firearms. That includes felons, contrary to what the laws may state. The Supreme Court no longer uses the Constitution to decide if laws are Constitutional or not. They just use their personal preference. At least the “Liberal Justices” do.
People who have “gun permits” generally are “disciplined.” It is the crowd of armed punks and gang-bangers who have no discipline. They do not obey the laws.
The current administration is already trying to decide who is competent or not when the issue of gun ownership arises. Guess who is at the top of their watch list? Veterans returning from war zones. They are trained to handle firearms, fully automatic ones I might add, which means they are “disciplined.”
Do you want an unfriendly government authority deciding squat about who is competent or not for anything? How about deciding who can or cannot write letters to the editor? No need to stop with guns, you know.
As far as Chris Rock or just about any other “entertainer” giving advice on how to fix any problems in America, these people are more than ignorant of the facts. They are woefully and purposefully misinformed because it is politically correct to be so. Come to think of it, so are liberal politicians on just about every issue, not only guns.
Mr. Roy, responsible, disciplined gun owners do not want to see the carnage that is getting more and more frequent and violent. Every anti-gun, “gun control” law ever written is unconstitutional.
Want to make people more “disciplined” when handling firearms? Good! So do I. Let’s start by drafting every boy AND girl when they turn 18 or graduate from high school. No deferments, except for those completely unable to participate. In other words, only excuse those who are paralyzed from the top of their heads down.
Two benefits would be immediately obvious. One, every person would know how to handle firearms, and two, since politicians children would be serving, there would be fewer wars.
If everybody was a responsible, “disciplined,” concealed-carry, gun owner, I doubt that anybody, no matter how “crazy” or whatever they are, would even think about going onto an elementary school, or a theater, or a cafe, or anywhere else, to kill innocent people. The odds of him getting killed first or at least pretty quick, are too great.
Cameron Triplett
Brooksville
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.