Letter writer Bruce Peterson completely misses the point too — more than he thinks writer Kimball Shinkosky did.
The Second Amendment allows a “well-regulated militia” to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment was ratified Dec. 15, 1791. That is prior to the American Revolution. Citizens were allowed to keep and bear muskets, and the occasional sword. Bullets weren't invented until 1847. No one is denying you a right to keep and bear a musket, or a sword even.
Arm the teachers? Ludicrous. Teachers are moving mountains with nothing for resources and you want them to have another duty? National Public Radio says there were 400 cops at Uvalde who couldn't stop the shooter, but you think a second-grade teacher at Edison Elementary could do better?
There aren't “dominoes that will fall” if we ban AR-15s. They won't even take them away from you. The majority of the people in our nation want gun safety laws, and it's high time we had them. Background checks — can you pass one? Outlaw guns that are invisible at airports. Establish firearm storage safety standards. Raise the age limit to buy military type assault weapons, and enforce waiting periods. Increase penalties for gun trafficking. Require a safety class for a new gun owner. That is sensible. I would love to see mandatory gun insurance, where owners have to meet standards or the insurance company steps in.
America has an immense problem with mass shootings, a fact that many on the right refuse to face. No other country in the world has the free access to weapons of war as we do with AR-15s. The Uvalde shooter didn't even have the money to buy the two he got, or a credit card to charge them. The gun shop owner sold them to him on credit, on an in-house note. I don't know his prices, but probably more than the kid's paycheck.
Parents in Texas are being asked to give DNA samples so that the remains of their children can be identified. This happened in Uvalde, then kits were sent out to parents in other cities there. It is the stuff of horror movies.
I am still mystified that a responsible upstanding gun owner, a sensible hunter or a target shooter for example, would not want to make sure guns do not get into the hands of those intending harm. Washington has red flag laws. They are proven to save lives. We need nationwide legislation to close the loopholes the laws we have and to make sure gun ownership is as safe as car ownership.
Katherine L. Ford
Centralia
