Re “Assembly Votes to Ban Handguns Deemed...

Re “Assembly Votes to Ban Handguns Deemed Unsafe,” Aug. 20: Of course handguns are unsafe. Why do you think I carry one every day? Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa is wrong when he states that so-called Saturday-night specials “are the weapons of choice on the streets of Los Angeles.” Criminals prefer high-quality weapons just as much as honest citizens.

This is another example of feel-good legislation that will accomplish little or nothing. I think we’d get the attention of those who would violate the law and misuse weapons a lot quicker if Buford Furrow were to be quickly tried, convicted and executed. I recently handled the discovery phase in a death penalty case where the defendant had been convicted 15 years ago but the federal courts are still “studying” the issues involved long after the California Supreme Court upheld the conviction and sentence.

If there is no publicized swift, sure justice, what is there to deter future Furrows?

BURL ESTES

Mission Viejo

* “Getting Big Bucks for Our Bangs,” Aug. 20: Hats off to Patt Morrison for proposing that high noon should be declared on gun owners by making them defray some of the immense cost of gun violence. Why should we non-gunners pay for gun-related medical and trauma center expenses, costs of extra security guards, grief counseling, etc.?

Morrison’s is the most common-sense approach to our gun violence problem that I have heard. Among the industrial nations, this gun culture predicament is ours alone. When will our politicians stop cowering to the NRA and have the guts to pass this and similar non-loophole-filled gun legislation?

RICHARD CRAIG

Los Angeles

* As a single woman living in an apartment in Hollywood in the early 1990s, I felt compelled to purchase and train myself to use a handgun for self-protection. In the new world according to Morrison, that behavior somehow puts society at risk. Not only would I have had to shell out the $300 purchase price, but I would incur a surcharge on my homeowner’s insurance and should pay a substantial extra tax for the opportunity to ward off would-be rapists and robbers. The proceeds would go to people I don’t know and have not hurt, because the government seems unable to enforce the current laws preventing felons from owning guns. This sort of logic makes my teeth hurt.

LISALEE ANNE WELLS

Long Beach

* Apparently gun shows are the suppliers to the well-regulated militia the founding fathers had in mind. If gun shows are restricted, some militia members might be denied the freedom of shooting up schools and day-care centers.

JEROLD DRUCKER

Tarzana