LETTERS IN VIEW : Gun Control Arguments Aim at Targets

There are few areas in which ignorance is so lethal as where firearms are concerned. I must admire Richard Wiedepuhl, especially in the face of such a tragedy as the accidental death of his son. He has indeed identified the cause of the tragedy: Ignorance.

As an experienced firearms handler, knowledgeable in the various types and calibers of handguns, their uses and abuses, I shed a silent oath when I hear or read of a child destroyed because someone couldn’t take the time to learn, in-depth, about a gun they owned.

I first purchased a firearm for home protection during the Prop. 15 scare, figuring that it just might pass, and if I ever wanted to own one, now was the time. A business friend, upon hearing me mention that I was about to buy one, offered to take me over to the target range and train me in proper gun handling, cleaning, shooting, and most of all, a sensible attitude.

Typically, a first-time buyer will be advised to start with a .38 caliber revolver, and this is what I purchased.

As time went by, I observed my 16-month-old daughter exploring around the bedroom, as curious as any child, and when she started poking around the area where the gun was kept, I realized that I had a problem.

Patrick Mott cites several tragic examples of people’s lives being extinguished by the careless mishandling of a firearm . . . and every time (save one) the weapon was a revolver (the one exception was a loaded shotgun).

A revolver, although the most popular and easy-to-care-for defensive weapons, is a poor choice in a house where children are present, as Randy Garrell was quoted in your article, “If there’s a gun in your house, they’re gonna find it.”

The very design of a revolver invites a kid to play with the trigger, hammer, etc. This type of firearm has no safety, and modern revolvers are typically double action, meaning that one needn’t even cock the hammer. You squeeze the trigger, and BLAM!

So, what to do? Get rid of the gun, fearing that your child may become a gruesome statistic? But maybe you still need a firearm for home defense. Perhaps you’ll remove the bullets. Aside from the fact that you’ve now rendered the weapon useless for defense (save throwing it) it stands to reason that if the kid can find the revolver, he can jolly well locate the cartridges.

Here’s what I did: I started talking to gun owners, and at a local target range test-fired a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. I had to be shown how to load and fire it, as these operations are not in the least apparent when you look at it. In other words, if you’re not familiar with this type of side arms, it’s not very likely that you’ll be able to make it shoot.

Still not satisfied, I took my newly purchased .45 semiauto pistol to a gunsmith for some modifications--among them, a double-heavy recoil spring, which makes it twice as difficult to chamber a cartridge. It is now impossible for a child to do. But just in case, I had the trigger pull increased to seven pounds pressure.

The LAPD favors the Baretta 9-millimeter semiautomatic for a variety of reasons. My point is that any semiautomatic pistol is by far preferable to a revolver in a house where children live or visit.

If you must keep that revolver, then by all means pay a visit to your local gun store and buy a gun lock suitable for your model.

TODD WAITE

Van Nuys