Dear Editor:
Allow me to state at the outset that I endorse the "Wyatt Earp" approach to gun control and regulation. It's very easy to remember. It states: no guns - no exceptions. I readily admit that this policy is somewhat extreme. But if my views are extreme, what are the views of others that propose more guns, armed schoolteachers, and the freedom to carry any weapon, anytime, anywhere?
Perhaps it is a culture clash between the rural and the urban sides of society. I come from the city. I've never owned a gun. I've never fired a gun. I've never held a gun. But like most Americans, I am becoming more aware of what they are capable of when used, or when misused.
It has been said criminals will always be able to get guns. This is true, but only if the criminals live in this country, simply because we have so many of them. Imagine any stereotypical gang of bad guys; the mafia, the Crips, the Bloods, religious terrorists, South American drug lords. If they could access bazookas, wouldn't they? Tanks? Poison gas? Nuclear weapons? Yet they've rarely utilized such arsenals.
These things are pretty scarce. They are hard to come by. Why could not automatic and semi-automatic rifles be as scarce? Would the outcome have been different if Adam Lanza had strode into Sandy Hook Elementary with a six-shooter instead of a Bushmaster?
It has been said that the right to bear arms, as stated in the U.S. Constitution, is a defense against tyranny. I know a little about the Constitution. It's a document designed to instruct us how to defend our government, not rebel against it. The first practical application of the Second Amendment was when then-President Washington personally led state militias against the Whiskey Rebellion.
Throughout American history attempts to corrupt the government or establish power in the hands of a few have been resolved by our system of checks and balances, not force of arms.
Citizens of the Confederacy were pretty well armed, but did not fare so well against the government. I do not fear my government; I fear the Adam Lanzas of the world.
"No guns - no exceptions" is extreme. In the meantime, I'll take whatever I can get. I'd like to see our flag at full staff for a change.