System is only as good as we make it
Predictably, The Times is calling for more gun-control laws as a knee-jerk response to the shooting of two Pierce County deputies on a domestic violence call-out [“Good enough for guns, not wheels,” NWWednesday, Danny Westneat column, Dec. 23].
If the family members David E. Crable had previously assaulted — or the prosecuting attorney —had charged the cop-shooter with the highest possible charges for his earlier crimes, he would have been barred from possessing firearms and those he already had would have been taken away.
The system is there to prevent such incidents, if it’s allowed to work.
— Joe Waldron, Pensacola, Fla.
Banning all handguns nationwide
Perhaps now is a good time to revisit our outdated gun-control laws, or more accurately, lack thereof.
The problem is handguns.
Anyone can own one, they are easy to conceal, they serve no useful purpose in a modern society other than to shoot people, and they are deadly.
It should be illegal to own, buy, sell, import, export or manufacture handguns, with the obvious exceptions of the military and law enforcement. The government should pay fair market value for all handguns, no questions asked, and melt them down to scrap, with serious penalties for holdouts.
In a generation or two, handguns would be gone or very rare. Private citizens not convicted of a felony or violent crime could legally own shotguns and rifles, thus honoring the intent of the Bill of Rights.
I think Canada got this one right, and the gun-death statistics back me up.
Over time, death by gunfire would be greatly reduced, and it would be a whole lot harder for a mentally-ill person to walk into a coffee shop and kill four police officers.
— Scott Davis, Bellingham