If you want to own a 200-year-old musket I won't mind

To The Daily Sun,

Did you know there is a loophole in a law that states if a wife calls the police to report domestic abuse and the husband has gun(s) in the house, those guns will be removed? However, if a girlfriend calls the police to report domestic abuse, the boyfriend gets to keep his guns; it doesn’t matter if they live together or not. Crazy, I know, but that’s the law — full of loopholes — and therein lies the problem.

If she bought a gun for her own protection (I’m referencing the Belmont shooting), how did he know that she had it or where it was kept? Again, if the gun was stored properly or even possibly had a safety lock on it, perhaps the situation would not have escalated to the degree it did.

Law-abiding citizens are not on people’s radar; it’s the ones with the "history of violence" as you described in your letter that need to be watched. If you had a suicidal family member in your home, would you still leave your guns out in the open? I’ll bet you would not. You are a responsible gun owner with common sense. Can you say that about all gun owners?

The process to get a gun should not be quick and easy. The background checks should include any and all history of violence, mental illness, and suicide attempts — those should be RED flag warnings. But unfortunately, because of HIPAA, no one would know or be aware of any of that extremely valuable lifesaving information.

As for assault weapons of any kind, why the need for them? Simply because you can and “It’s my right!” are really not good answers anymore. The amendment you love was written over 200 years ago, when people were defending their homesteads against the British and Native Americans.

I live in a home next to hundreds of other homes. The only British person I have met up here was a visitor. And those Native Americans have been pushed off onto small reservations nowhere near us. And if you want to own one of those colonial-styled guns, I would not mind. I hear they were awful to load and not very accurate when shooting. But we are not talking about those guns now, are we?

Why is it such a hard request to make sure everyone is properly licensed to own a gun? Why is it so unrealistic to have people who have NEVER used a weapon to take lessons and learn properly from a professional? Why is it so difficult to have people make sure their guns are securely stored in a safe for the protection of others? And if there is no gun safe, why are gun safety locks not required by law — especially in homes with young children and young adults?

I don’t have any problems with responsible gun owners, it’s the ones who treat it like a toy that I do. When I got my license to drive, my dad said to me, “Treat that car with respect" it’s a weapon.” I didn’t understand what he was saying until I began to drive. I sure do now.

“There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. A few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." — Will Rogers

Denise C Burke

Gilford