Taking Issue on Guns 

Editor:

I am writing to address the firearms articles featured in the Jan. 10 edition of the Journal (The Gun Issue). Terry Robert's response letter, in the Jan. 17 edition is correct as far as it goes. Some more clarification is in order.

The Second Amendment is not about hunting, gun collecting or target shooting. It is about the right of this country's citizens to assume personal responsibility for their own protection and safety. The problem is we have a growing portion of our society who don't want to assume personal responsibility for anything much less personal protection. Mr. Bennett, through his article, appears to be one of those. He thinks everyone should have health care but doesn't differentiate between government providing it and an individual assuming personal responsibility for his own health. And why shouldn't government provide health care? Isn't government constantly telling us we are incapable of taking care of ourselves?

Congressman Mike Thompson claims to be a hunter and gun collector but he, also, does not seem to know what the Second Amendment is about. He says military style firearms should not be in the hands of us citizens. Every firearm commercially available today is a military derivative. Not just semiautomatic firearms which have been around since the end of the 19th century.

AR/AK platform ordinance have been the most popular firearm in this country for decades. That's important because the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling, in the Heller case, covers such firearms. Today, there are a myriad of sporting events, training centers and manufacturers producing hunting versions of the AR/AK platform ordinance than ever before as well as millions of people who own them and use them responsibly. These citizens will be the only ones impacted by gun control, not the bad guys.

 John Damon, Mckinleyville