Gun rights
TO THE EDITOR:
I read “In Your View” about support for the Student Walkout. It was disheartening to see how many readers felt compelled to include their own anti-gun statements in their comments. Here are some things to think about when you want to pass gun control laws.
If an age limit of 21 is implemented American adults aged 18-20, who already cannot own a pistol, will be totally deprived of their constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms. At what age do Americans gain their constitutional rights?
According to FBI statistics rifles were used to kill 368 people in 2016, less than 2% of homicides. In the 15 worst US school attacks (http://www.marquetinternational.com/pdf/12_deadliest_school_ attacks_ in_ us_ history. pdf plus 3 more recent attacks) “assault weapons” were used in three of those attacks. “Assault weapons” are NOT the weapon of choice for school killers.
AR-15s are not weapons of war. Militaries use actual assault rifles, which are fully automatic or selective fire rifles.
The power of the NRA is not its political contributions, it’s the 6 million members and another estimated 130 million gun owners who can be relied on to vote for politicians who support the Second Amendment.
Firearms are used to STOP crimes approximately as often as they are used to commit them. The CDC found that anywhere from 500,000 (1359/day) to 3 million times a year (8219/ day), guns are being used in self-defense. How many more deaths due to “gun violence” would there be if all those people didn’t have guns to defend themselves?
Expanding background checks sounds good superficially, but do you know what that really means? Requiring a background check for every gun transfer would require private gun sellers and purchasers to go to a licensed gun dealer and get a background check. They can cost $150 in some areas. The increased cost would make firearms unaffordable to many lower income Americans who often live in high crime areas and, therefore, are more likely to need a gun to defend their homes and families. I used the term transfers because some versions of these laws would require background checks if you loan a friend or family member your gun. And another check when they give it back to you.
Rex Brinson Timpson, Texas