LETTER: Common Sense Gun Laws And Personal Responsibility

The following letter to the editor was written by Skippack resident Janis C. Sheridan. To submit a letter to the editor at Patch, please email justin.heinze@patch.com. Letters to the editor are written by readers and never by Patch reporters and do not reflect the opinions of Patch.

This letter was written in response to a Feb. 17 letter by Charlotte Valyo, "We Must Stand Up To The NRA."

Dear Editor,

Let me state that I am neither a gun owner nor do I ever anticipate the need to own one. That being said, I hope it will always be my prerogative to own one if I so choose. So I find it necessary to reply to Ms. Valyo's letter.

After the horrible tragedy in Florida this past week, everyone was left in disbelief and everyone's heart was breaking for those beautiful children and their parents. In the aftermath of it all, the very first political talking point was on gun banning and branding Trump and the NRA the culprits of this dreadful situation. So, I sat down for an hour and a half and tried to find the stats on gun related deaths in the US and other industrialized countries.

By the time I had to shut the computer down, in my mind, I came away with a clearer view of the problems we face politically. It was also appalling to find facts that the main stream media chooses to avoid making public. So before everyone rushes to the poles to get rid of the horrible president who "caused this disaster," enlighten yourself. It is neither President Trump nor the NRA dividing this country. It is the political party fighting to maintain dominance. It is the liberal mentality that leads their people like sheep, having them believe everything they see on main stream media without a little digging themselves.

This is my take on the problems we in America face regarding gun violence. Please note I am not adding anything about illegals or inner city issues causing a rise in the numbers What I am concerned with is the issue of Amendment Rights. Taking away any part of our rights by altering any one of them, is a slippery slope. Once that happens, law abiding conservatives better go out and get their guns.

The U.S. has similar laws regarding gun permitting and ownership as the other industrialized countries. However, each state has the liberty of making and enforcing their own. This should not be. The U.S. does not seem to have a great record of enforcing those laws and this is where the biggest breakdown is as this last tragedy has shown. In no way, under any of the laws on the books, should this fellow have been in possession of a gun. Do you question how that happened? How many adults or students for that matter ever stepped forward and tried to get him the help it was obvious he so desperately needed? So far, except for the one gentlemen who saw a post on the internet and reported it, I have heard of no one. We, the people carry some responsibility to try to help when we know someone who has expressed in one way or another such torment or anger. And be damned the fear of liberal retribution. And then there is the FBI who failed miserably at protecting these students because they are so inept at following through with the procedures I am sure they put in place.

My last point is during the entire time I was trying to educate myself, I could find not one mention of what penalties ANY one of these countries has in place for those who are found to have broken any of the laws. My husband said in England they all but throw away the key. I do not know if that is true, but what little I know of the other countries, I believe they are very strict on the violators. Here in the United States, not so much. Already the lawyers are trying to get this guy off by reason of insanity. Autism? That seems to be the illness du jour. No, he was mentally disturbed and had serious emotional and anger problems. He needed intervention and he should not have been able to obtain a legal gun. End!

So, people, stop allowing the liberal mainstream media lead you like sheep. Do your homework. Research and read. Work to have the gun laws tightened and the penalties stricter. Fight for the right causes. Do not protect the criminal's rights, protect our own, you own, rights.

Sincerely,
Janis C. Sheridan
Skippack, PA

Patch file photo