Editor,
In response to the letter by Nancy Mayer in the Whidbey News-Times issue of April 12, I have this to say: No pro-gun person or organization condones the unlawful use of any firearm. State and federal laws determine who can own a gun legally, not the NRA or the GOP. Neither the NRA nor the GOP sells guns. There is a Randolph Scott western from 1950 titled “Colt .45.” After the credits run there is a quote on the screen, “A gun, like any other source of power, is a force for either good or evil, being neither in itself, but dependent upon those who possess it.”
Firearms are not the problem. There are over 100 million guns in the hands of responsible gun owners yet they aren’t doing the killing. Mental health facilities are few and can’t handle the situation. Parents either won’t or can’t instill the realities of life into their kids, such as respect for others. Violence seems to be the response to any problem in their lives. The reason so many schools are targets is because the “Gun Free Zone” signs mean there won’t be anyone there with a gun to stop them. Laws or signs don’t deter anyone wishing to perpetrate violence.
It’s so easy to blame an inanimate object for the problems, rather than the criminal. A fatal car accident, bludgeoning or knifing occurs and the assailant gets the blame, not the object involved. Why is it then that guns are blamed and not the assailant? There is no such thing as gun violence as guns, themselves, cannot attack anyone. The AR-15 that uses a 5.56 caliber cartridge is demonized as a high-power firearm, it is not. You can’t hunt deer with that cartridge as it’s not powerful enough. In the Washington State Gun Crime Statistics from 2017 – 2021 the most used caliber in crimes is the 9mm pistol cartridge. It lists nine other calibers and nowhere is the 5.56mm. The AR-15 isn’t even listed in the 10 types of firearms most used in crimes, nor is the AK-47.
Gun haters need to learn the facts and not make judgements by emotion.
Alan Meaux
Oak Harbor