Don’t take guns from law-abiding people
Brent Severson (letter July 11) says “criminals laugh at gun laws.” Michael Robinson says “Laws do influence and restrict dangerous behavior.” Who’s right? They both are.
The criminals laugh because they are less likely to encounter someone with a gun. And the law-abiding people are influenced by the gun laws and are less likely to be involved.
What’s wrong with this scenario is that when a mass shooting occurs, first responders are at least five minutes away and by the time they get to the scene lives have already been lost. One of the characteristics of mass shootings is that they generally occur in places where firearms are banned. If there’s someone present with a gun when a mass shooting begins, the shooter is likely to be shot and many lives could be saved.
To take guns away from people who can save lives with them seems anti-productive. Let’s not pass laws that take guns away from people that can use them to save lives, and enforce laws (death penalty, life sentence, background checks) to try to reduce the potential mass shooters of the future.
John Williams, Fresno
This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Don’t take guns from law-abiding people."