Letters to the Editor

Friday, January 21, 2000

GUNS

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President’s suggestions will do little to get felons off the street
In a Tuesday article by Marc Lacey of The New York Times, it is claimed that the president is asking for $280 million to enforce gun control laws and appease gun rights advocates. The reality is far removed from that.
The money will be used to “foster development of . . . smart-gun technology, improve the government’s ballistic testing program and begin an anti-gun news media campaign.” How are those actions supposed to enforce existing gun control laws? The initiatives do nothing to address the issues raised by gun rights advocates, which call for two things:

First, prosecute felons caught by the instant-check system attempting to buy firearms. Second, punish felons using firearms in crimes under federal law without parole. More than 17,000 felons have been identified through the instant-check system trying to buy firearms, yet only a handful have been prosecuted. The problem is not a lack of government lawyers to handle the criminals, but an unwillingness by the government to take serious action that would indeed reduce crime.

Instead of financing remedies known to reduce crime, the president insists on obfuscation and taking the public on another merry-go-round ride — lots of movement, no change in location. Until the criminals misusing firearms are taken off the streets, no improvements will be seen. All the president’s suggestions are aimed at restricting sales to honest citizens.

Chip E. Miller
Federal Way

Woman could have been killed if not for officer with a gun
The Jan. 14 article about a woman jogger who was attacked by a 100-pound dog was terrifying. Thank goodness an off-duty policeman was nearby, heard her scream and had his pistol handy. He saved her life. Thank goodness there are good people around us who who have pistols. Thank goodness we live in a society that recognizes defense of one’s life as the first right among all rights, and that the handgun is the greatest device ever invented for protecting innocent lives. Of course, that’s why nearly every police officer in America carries a handgun.
Phil Erickson
Kent