LETTER: Right to life, liberty conflicts with baring arms

To the Telegram:

“Paranoia strikes deep, into each life it will creep, it starts when you’re always afraid …”

If you remember this, like I do. — yeah, I’m dating myself but it just popped into my mind when I was talking to my bride about gun control.

I’ve brought the subject up in earlier letters to the New Richmond News and it’s not any less relevant today. I know guns don’t kill people; I know most people who own guns use them responsibly. What bothers me is why do some people feel it’s necessary to own assault rifles, or handguns, and why would anyone feel the need to carry a handgun around in plain sight, like at a tea party rally?

Is it because carrying a weapon makes them feel more macho, or to make a political statement or simply because they can?

It’s a fact that disagreements can arise over the stupidest things, and can escalate without much warning, and if firearms are close at hand — well things can get out of control. What about the shootings in Colorado, Arizona, here in Wisconsin. If firearms were not so readily available, would a lot of these folks still be alive? What about the Kansas City football player that lost his temper, killed his girlfriend and then himself; might they still be around had he not had easy and legal access to a gun?

Nobody knows the answer to those questions, but might he have just walked away from the problem? The question that seems to stick with me, is if a person is so paranoid that he figures he has to carry a gun to protect himself — and I understand it is his right to do so — is my right to personal safety, which is also protected by the constitution, as in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, going to be trumped by the paranoia of the gun carrier.

I won’t say we should do away with the right to bear arms, but wouldn’t it make more sense to restrict sales to people pending passing a mental competency test, and restrict the way in which gun dealers do business, to make it harder for the wrong people to acquire weapons.

I would also like for someone to explain to me why any private citizen would need an automatic assault weapon.

George Richard,

New Richmond, Wis.

Tags: opinion, letters