Share: 

Proposed gun law ineffective

March 4, 2013

I am a 30-year military veteran, firefighter, father of eight, and avid supporter of the NRA and other gun rights groups who defend freedom against tyranny and criminals. Note: tyranny refers to that imposed by elected politicians who think they are above those who elected them.

Politicians should be supporting crime control, not gun and law abiding citizen control.  They should not  support "no gun zones" which only set up kill boxes for criminals and leave law abiding citizens defenseless to protect themselves and innocent bystanders in places such as malls and school zones.  They should not support limitation on magazines capacity which only gives criminals more of an edge against law abiding citizens who try to defend themselves and their families.  Gov. Markell simply doesn't get it, and clearly wants to disarm peaceful law abiding citizens.

To quote another Delaware law abiding gun owner, "I understand, quite unofficially of course, that one of the new laws being proposed requires the mandatory reporting of lost or stolen guns. This would require once a person discovers their gun has been stolen or lost they have 48 hours to report it. If they do not, it will be a misdemeanor with a fine of $100-$500.

If the proposed law is that quick and simple, as I am told, I believe that it is so nebulous and onerous that it should never have seen the paper it is printed on.

Laws, rules and regulations need to address a specific problem with a specific remedy and I can only ask:

How would this law have prevented the carnage at Sandy Hook?

How will this law prevent future mass tragedy?

How will this law protect our children?

How will this law prevent criminal behavior?

How will this law punish the criminal who steals a weapon?

How will this law be enforced?

How does this law benefit law abiding gun owners?

How does this law benefit citizens who do not own a gun?

If someone breaks into your home and steals your lawnmower or your tool box or your computer or your gun or your motorcycle what is the first thing you are going to do? Report it to the police. That is the only way that the police will know there is criminal activity in your neighborhood and the only way you will get your property back if recovered. I fail to see the rationale behind mandatory reporting of the theft of a gun but not the theft of anything else. An individual is either responsible or not.

If the purpose of this law is to allow the tracing of a firearm recovered from a crime scene or from a criminal it is a misdirection of valuable resources. Tracing is available through BATFE.

Obviously, I must be missing something here and I would appreciate it if you would explain the purpose and benefits of this bill.

Rodney Coleman
Magnolia

  • 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.

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter