Second Amendment

I should not have to write this letter, but the interview with U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen contained numerous outright falsehoods with respect to the Second Amendment (The Capital, Sept. 17). The interview was published under the byline of a reporter in the News and not Opinion section.

Perhaps most strikingly, the senator claims: “It is absolutely nuts that in some states you go to the gun shop and go through a background check, but if you go to the gun show you don't."

This statement is false in all 50 states in the union. Every single licensed gun shop in the country is required to perform, at a minimum, a NICS background check on every purchase of a firearm — whether the purchase occurs in the shop or at a gun show.

The senator also claims without evidence that: “We have seen in the state of Maryland the permit to purchase law has saved lives.”

One need not look beyond the four corners of the article to disprove that statement. Several paragraphs down (and kudos to The Capital on the question), the senator admits that homicides in Baltimore City have spiked “in the aftermath of Freddie Gray.” It should be noted that the spike in homicides dovetails with passage of the “Firearm Safety Act” in 2013.

There are frankly too many other inaccuracies to count. Notably absent is any question or answer that specifically and directly responds to the threat posed by mass shooters — allowing those of us who wish to do so to arm ourselves. KYLE S. KUSHER

Severna Park