The Arguable Right to Bear Arms

* The editorial, “Postal Shootings: Turmoil Within” (May 8), insinuated that if we could only do something about “disgruntled or mentally unbalanced employees” or individuals, tragedies such as this could be avoided. This, however, is only half the situation.

The “murderous violence” discussed in your editorial was actualized through the use of firearms. It is highly implausible that all of the thousands of people slain in our country each year through the use of guns would be dead if the weapon used was a knife or some other non-explosive device. The old adage, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” should be changed to, “guns make it easy to kill large groups of people when people kill people.”

Weapons of mass destruction are outlawed for a good reason. We as a society are not willing to take the chance of allowing these weapons to fall into the hands of crazy individuals. Thousands of people might be killed. Yet this is what is happening collectively through the use of firearms in our country. We are witnessing and permitting the wholesale destruction of large masses of people each year in our pursuit of the “right” to bear arms. By allowing free access to firearms, we as a society are participating in a multitude of killings.

The statement, “Society is never free of risk from disturbed individuals,” will always remain accurate. The least we can do is make it harder for these individuals to carry out their acts of violence. Outlaw the private ownership of firearms now.

CRAIG BLANCHARD

Seal Beach