Sen. Dean Takko, I am very disappointed in your decision that you would vote no on Senate Bill 6620. The issue is not about the Second Amendment, but about brain development and decision-making.
As a retired science teacher, I have firsthand experience working with hundreds of young people. Given my experience, I’m often asked why young people make such questionable decisions.
Young people make questionable decisions because their brains are not fully developed, specifically their prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until people are in their early 20s, hence the reason we restrict access to potentially dangerous substances like alcohol and tobacco. They are moving toward graduated drivers licenses in many states, and most car rental companies are requiring a person be 25 years old to rent a car.
Given these common sense restrictions, we should also limit the ownership of all firearms to age 21, when people will have a much better chance at making sound decisions due a more mature prefrontal cortex.
Please protect all of your constituents, and quit appeasing the vocal minority who are unwittingly complacent in the arming of persons who have the very real potential to commit the type of thoughtless mass murders we are seeing on a regular basis in America.
Gary Bristow
Winlock
