Wednesday, December 18, 2024
44.0°F

Gun control argument misses the point

by Steven Roos
| June 23, 2015 7:00 AM

As a retired police chief, what I’m going to say may sound controversial but here it goes:

1. I don’t like the idea of criminals and the mentally ill having guns, but knowing that the police response will take minutes when seconds count, I do like the idea of responsible citizens having guns.

2. Where you stand philosophically on the Second Amendment doesn’t change the reality that there are already millions of guns in America. If there is an effective way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, I’m all for it. But the belief that we’ll reduce violence by keeping guns from the general public seems naïve and even counterproductive.

For the rest of the letter, see the print edition of the Bonner County Daily Bee or subscribe to our e-edition.