How can Thomas Lucente believe the Founding Fathers, who penned the 2nd Amendment in the 18th Century, would have the same intent in the 21st Century? Think how they might feel today knowing there are more than 300 million guns floating around, many of them in crowded urban areas because of a thriving black market.
Why is the United States the only civilized nation in the world still living in fear because mindless individuals, without restraint or legislative control, can pull out weapons of destruction with impunity? Is it any wonder the rest of the world views the United States record on gun violence an aberration of an otherwise peaceful, robust society?
Every day people are killed by guns in America. In a recent year, Detroit had more than 800 homicides by gun violence! Just across the Detroit River, in Ottawa, Canada, that same year there were six deaths by guns. How do we account for this vast difference in two urban areas less than 10 miles apart?
Taking note of the recent cold-blooded police ambush near Houston, Texas, one can understand the deep emotions felt by the law enforcement community across the nation. I wonder how many police officers would welcome working in a nation with far fewer guns in the hands of ordinary citizens? I lived in Japan on and off for 15 years where no law-abiding citizen was allowed to own a gun. Even policemen on the beat do not carry a gun. I ask Mr. Lucente to pull up the statistics on how many gun deaths happen in Japan each year.
— Carl D. Liechty, Lima
