Concealed Guns

Your Jan. 29 editorial states “society is not safer with a gun in the home, or under a coat.” That statement is true. However, it is not society that needs to be safer. It is the individual that needs protection.

For too long we have subrogated the rights and needs of the individual for the good of society. The result is a society of people afraid to leave their homes at night. It is time we understand that as long as the individual is not safe, society is not safe.

Hoodlums, who think nothing of taking a life, control our streets at night. Until society can protect the individual from those criminals, it is the responsibility of the individual to protect himself. It is time to allow us to do so.

STEVEN R. POSEY

Hesperia

* According to the Justice Department, 87% of all violent crime occurs outside the home. Since the right to self-defense against deadly attack is fundamental to our system of justice, more and more states understand this right does not end when we leave our homes. In 1995 alone 10 states either passed or modified their right-to-carry laws.

The Times would seek to deny Californians this basic right, thereby performing a disservice to us and especially to women, who are the preferred target of violent criminals since they are perceived to be less aggressive and physically inferior. For women, there exists no better self-defense implement than a handgun carried on the person.

To deny law-abiding citizens the right to carry concealed only stacks the circumstances in favor of the violent stranger we might encounter outside our home.

FRANK B. CANNONITO

Irvine