What do you think?

To the Editor:

Guns don't kill people; people kill people. I am sick of this trite, ludicrous, irresponsible, talking-point answer to our mushrooming disrespect for life.

Try convincing the parents of those little Connecticut kids that guns have nothing to do with the mayhem committed upon their innocent children ... which is essentially the fallacious argument the people-kill-people people use.

What would happen if the people killers attempted to pull the trigger but none was present, if no gun was available for them to use?

Don't lay on me your selfish, not to mention incorrect, view that gun toters have a Constitutional "right" to bear any firearms they want regardless of the potential harm these weapons inflict on others.

A majority of the Supreme Court justices have declared that the Constitution's Second Amendment does not, I repeat, does not guarantee the right to own assault weapons, that, in fact, the Amendment is open to some restrictions.

And don't lay on me that oft-quoted fantasy that you need your assault weapon to prevent the big, bad government from taking your weapons or coming after you for any number of other paranoia-induced beliefs.

As if your assault weapon (and those of any number of other owners throughout our nation) would protect you from the big, bad government should it decide to move on you. You would be better off calling upon the tooth fairy for help.

And don't lay it on me the position that the military can have assault weapons, then the public should have the same "right." I may be wrong, but the last I knew, even very young people, at least those who give any thoughtful consideration to this issue, unlike so many others, realize the vast differences between our military and our civilian populations.

And don't lay it on me that you have a "right" to your semi-automatic weapon for your own selfish target practice enjoyment, regardless of the violence spewing forth from those weapons when used on human targets.

And don't lay on me the implications that nothing in excess of a "30-round clip" is necessary. Why are even 30 rounds necessary? Certainly not for hunting. If you require up to 30 rounds to kill your prey, it is past time to re-evaluate your firearm skills ... and then rid yourself – and our society – of your assault weapon.

And don't lay on me your naïve belief that the solution to our gun problem lies in identifying the mentally ill in our society.

Believe, if you insist, in that fantasy with which you are comfortable and which allows you to avoid dealing with the real problem, but in the foreseeable future we will, unfortunately, never identify most of the sick people in our society and then heal them ... although we must never stop trying.

If you want to talk rights, let's talk about the rights of those innocent Connecticut kids, not to mention future additional kids and other people – to pursue life and happiness without having to constantly look over their shoulders at the haunting specter of slaughter hanging over them.

While on this topic, I would be remiss if I did not address the idiocy of arming people within our schools as one of your letter writers suggested last week. Carried one step further, why not arm our students so they can prevent the increasing mayhem increasingly perpetrated on our kids.

Why, we could even give them a gun grade on their report cards. Don't scoff. Arming students is a solution one of our thoughtful, courageous politicians offered last week. Come to think of it, why don't we issue self-protecting guns to all citizens to carry anywhere and at all times.

It is time to confront reality. No one solution will solve this problem: outlawing assault rifles, limiting magazine rounds, turning our school into ersatz armories, identifying all of the mentally/emotionally ill people, stringent background checks, etc., etc.

However, just as the cure for biologically-induced cancer will require more than one approach, the cure for the cancer of violence riding roughshod over our people will require a combination of approaches.

Will we ever totally eliminate senseless violence? I fear not. However, should even one life be saved, just one, moving ahead on all of these potential solutions will be worthwhile.

If you don't believe so, ask the parents ... or relatives ... or friends of anyone who has ever had their life terminated by guns if they believe we should discontinue our efforts. Or ask yourself as you look at the photograph of your child who was a victim of gun violence if you should have, at the very least, adopted an open mind on these issues.

Finally, our society will be much better served when our politicians grow the balls to pass laws preventing semi-automatic weapons with their massive ammo clips from flooding our culture and slaughtering our innocent people.

For this to occur, a vast majority of our people must first grow the balls to demand responsible action from our feckless politicians. What do you think?

Thomas Harvey

South Paris

Editor's Note: Despite what the letter writer implies, this newspaper has not taken a position on assault weapons.