America’s majority want stricter gun laws

I am very sorry to learn that gun ownership is up in Hawaii.

Some buyers reference the need for protection. Somehow, it does not seem to be working so well for the nation.

I don’t buy that the Second Amendment gives the right to bear an AK-47. Somehow, I would not feel protected when a neighbor might have several weapons of mass assassination along with his right to carry a weapon on his hip.

The argument that “law-abiding citizens” should be allowed to carry guns does not fly with me. (By the way, I would not want to fly with a plane full of people armed to protect themselves!)

Law-abiding citizens sometimes get drunk and then hostile, have jealous rages, serious depression, bad tempers, or take prescription or illegal drugs, all of which can cause not-so-law-abiding behavior, especially when guns are readily available.

Abraham Lincoln said that if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. With some people, walking around with a gun brings out a personality change or the bully in them, and they become self-righteous and dangerous when slighted.

As far as the Second Amendment goes, the founders were incredibly wise, but could not foresee such weapons that efficiently kill scores of citizens in short order. They also did not allow women or slaves to vote, and blacks could be owned, so our Constitution was not perfect.

The great majority of Americans want stricter gun laws.

Jim Killett Lahaina