Stop campaigning against gun rights

I find it insane how much The Baltimore Sun’s editorial board does not appreciate the right to bear arms (“This is neither the time nor the way to loosen Maryland’s handgun permit restrictions,” Aug. 7). You are upset that a state with horribly unconstitutional gun laws wants to relax them just slightly. You act like we should just give up our rights because less than 500 people a year die in mass shootings.

No thanks. Even when you include gang crime and suicide the gun death toll is absolutely dwarfed by the number of deaths due to unhealthy diet and lifestyle. Should we restrict deep fat fryers because 600,000 people die in the U.S. each year from heart disease?

Once we give up rights, it’s difficult to get them back. And your ability to use a gun to protect yourself is definitely a right we want to keep.

Andrew Penhollow