Farah on Armed Federal Agents

As I read Joseph Farah’s “Gun Control? Let’s Start With the Feds” (Column Right, Aug. 19) I was amazed. We live in a time when many men, women and children experience the pressure to carry a gun out of fear. You can’t drive a car without being concerned about an altercation with another driver in possession of a weapon. You cannot let your child visit a friend’s home, out of concern that the parent might keep a loaded gun within the reach of the child. We have enough problems created due to a lack of gun control. Now Farah informs us of the need to begin gun control with the Feds. What nonsense!

Government statistics continue to show a decrease in violent crime, but these guys keep whining about the need for more and more guns under the guise of the 2nd Amendment. Well, if the people of this country are being forced into today’s gun frenzy, it is a reasonable assumption that government agencies are being forced into it as well. I believe our government should have the right to do whatever is necessary to enforce the laws of the land. In the process, maintain a system to protect the rights of the public. Let us be vigilant in continuing to tighten controls on guns in California.

GARY SWEARINGEN

Camarillo

It would be truly amusing to hear one of the NRA members who supports the legalization of carrying concealed weapons make the arguments that Farah does, i.e., to take guns away from U.S. officialdom. While these members believe concealed weapons would contribute to a safer society because the criminals won’t know who has a weapon, one wonders whether the members would be troubled to know who does?

WARREN WILKE

Ventura

Farah’s column vilifies federal agents (enviro-cops) with the EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, etc. for “packing heat” while they are busy confiscating your property to protect endangered species. His single example of violence by federal agents had nothing whatsoever to do with “enviro-cops,” but was the killing of a Malibu millionaire, the result of a bungled DEA raid.

Did Farah mention anything about the DEA, the billions of tax dollars wasted, the lives destroyed and those killed in this failed war on drugs? No. If he were serious about civil liberties (Where’s the ACLU?), or personal (instead of corporate) property rights, he would have questioned the $500 million seized from Americans each year by the Department of Justice’s enforcement of civil asset forfeiture laws and the fact that 80% of those Americans are never even charged with a crime.

STEPHEN L. WILLIS

San Francisco