I am writing in support of and asking our legislators to enact common sense gun regulations for Delaware.
While I understand the furor over the Second Amendment, I think it is exaggerated to put fear into people's heads. Asking for regulation does not imply doing away with the Second Amendment. We have regulations about driving, the age of drinking (which has changed over time because of evident need), and yet no one is clamoring about these.
The right to drive can be taken away for various infringements, which all drivers know when they start driving. How many of us have inadvertently carried to airplane security a container with more than three ounces of liquid, and have had that (our personal property) taken away? Those laws, among others, were put in place to help ensure all people's safety, even if it means taking away personal property.
When the Second Amendment was written, no one could imagine the assault weapons that are now available to those who want them. They were inconceivable. Yet, as the power of our weapons has grown, the notion of our private right to bear arms has grown with it, along with our defense of personal property, in this case our guns.
I don't believe that those who have hunting rifles and use them for that purpose or those who are carrying handguns consider these weapons the equivalent of assault weapons or guns with bump stocks. We have allowed an equivalency to occur which has created a danger for the personal lives (and isn't this the most personal of our property?) of innocent people, as evidenced by the the devastating number of mass shootings in our country.
We cannot fall back on the simplistic statement that all mass shooters are either mentally sick or evil. We use these arguments more to avoid considering the banning of certain weapons than as a true explanation that considers the complexity of these horrific situations. No one should have guns of this nature, other than the military or those in law enforcement who are trained not only in the weapons' uses but in the circumstances during which they should be used.
Sara Ford
Lewes
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
