With the NRA in Dallas, Readers Let Loose About Gun Control

Servants of the NRAPresident Donald Trump has made statements supporting comprehensive gun control legislation, expanding background checks to gun show and internet sales, restricting guns for some young adults and the mentally ill and having discussions about banning assault style weapons. Trump has apparently abandoned the short-lived concern for the victims of gun violence, including the Parkland students. It is the NRA he holds nearest and dearest, and his words at the last NRA Convention are more characteristic: "To the N.R.A., I can proudly say I will never, ever let you down." I believe the NRA has dictated terms of service to many of our leaders, including Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott and Sens. John Cornyn, and Ted Cruz, while inciting its membership with fear of lost liberties and criminals at the gate. These tactics have been effective for years, but finally, a louder voice of reason is calling out the lies and seeking effective solutions. All of the guns are not keeping us safer. We don't need semiautomatic guns or bump stocks for liberty, and we don't need semi-truths or stock answers about gun control. We need leaders who aren't servants of the NRA.Carol Coulston, PlanoWhat is reasonable?It seems to me that the political system in this country is set up for politicians to accept donations from whoever can legally give them one, so to change their mind on a particular subject, send them a bigger donation.It is apparent that the NRA is the current bad guy because of its stand on gun ownership. I am an NRA member who favors reasonable gun laws. The question is, what is reasonable? For some, it's getting rid of all guns and for others, it's changing the purchasing age and enforcing the laws already in place.I appreciate all the student protests about safety and gun violence and their right to do so, but the number one cause of death for teens between ages 15-20 is car accidents. Approximately 9 die every day. That's over 3,000 a year along with over 200,000 injuries.Wouldn't it make more sense to require age 21 for a drivers license? You probably wouldn't get many student protesters and the adults influencing them asking for that, though.Donald Hammer, KellerBan at convention a good startRe: "Trump to speak at NRA meeting in Dallas on Friday," Wednesday news story.Pure hypocrisy. The NRA has put on brilliant, eye-catching, public display with its forked tongue. We need guns for safety, huh? But fearful of your own members' weapons? They might shoot the president, huh? I mean, we already know guns are used routinely now against children and adults, so I have to admit your logic (for once) is inescapable — the best way to keep the president and vice president safe is to ban guns. But is the NRA so dense that it misses the logical extension of its reasonable start? Limiting guns everywhere would make everyone safer. Our children are having to get the message out to us, and thankfully they have taken up the challenge. Cheers and love to all of them for teaching us slow-learner adults the lesson.Paul Cherry, GarlandLearning about the NRARe: "Texans gave NRA its firepower — After Harlon Carter and Neal Knox took over, the gun rights group became a feared force," April 29 news story.The article on the history of the NRA was very informative. I learned the NRA existed for 63 years before any legislation was passed involving firearms. The five laws that have been passed over the last 147 years have been in response to a changing society, and the manufacturing of weapons intended for mass casualties. Of those five, one protects the gun industry from lawsuits and another has expired. Of the three remaining laws, one states guns cannot be sold to felons, the mentally ill or drug users. Another one states if you want to buy a handgun, you can't just go to the store and purchase one. It is a process that will take more than a minute, but if you are none of the above, you will be able to purchase one, two however many you choose. The Brady Bill requires a background check before purchasing a weapon. Much like you do when applying for credit to buy a car or a mortgage or to volunteer at a school. Too bad I also learned that it was two Texans with their own personal agendas who changed the direction and purpose of the original NRA. But scoring the aging actor who played Moses to hold up a rifle at your convention does deserve a nod.Shawn Kalpan, PlanoI won't miss FloydRe: "Guns, weed: American as apple pie," by Jacquielynn Floyd, Tuesday Metro & State column.When I saw that Jacquielynn Floyd was retiring, I really wanted to wish her well while hoping she enjoys good health during retirement. While still wishing her well, I want to thank her for retiring. Now there will be one less person insulting me and the millions of other NRA members in my morning paper. FYI, Floyd, I'm not dentally challenged, nor bug-eyed, nor rednecked, and I've never smoked dope. And I don't believe we should have drive-through gun stores nor have gun vending machines. I'm proud to be a member because the NRA is a lover of freedom for all Americans and a lover of all the freedoms in our Constitution and The Bill Of Rights. I'm also proud of serving in Vietnam and then 35 years as a police officer. I don't think pot should be legal. It's a gateway drug. Every drug addict I ever met started with a joint. I saw up close the destruction of families who let drugs rule their lives. While I still wish Floyd a happy retirement, I won't shed any tears for her not being there to insult me in The Dallas Morning News.Jimmie George, FarmersvilleSecond Amendment no longer appliesThe Second Amendment states: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution on the powers of Congress authorizes a standing U.S. Navy ("To provide and maintain a Navy"). It gives Congress the powers to "To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years" and "for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions."It does not provide for a standing U.S. Army, only to "raise and support" armies to be formed by "calling forth the militia." The first part of the Second Amendment was included by the Founding Fathers to provide the reason for the second part. Since the United States now has a standing army, the rationale for the second part of the Second Amendment for unrestricted ownership no longer exists. What is wrong with this logic?Lash Hansborough, DentonThe Founders knewI read the stories about how Stephen Willeford prevented a catastrophe at the church in Sutherland Springs. I wish I could shake his hand and thank him for his actions that day. He was extremely unselfish. I understand he used an AR15 to chase the bad guy away. That's the same weapon that I've heard about and read about that the authors of our Constitution, while penning the Second Amendment, had absolutely no idea would someday exist. And I guess that that is a fair assessment, but I doubt those same authors had any idea that one day we'd have jet-propelled commercial airplanes either. Or that some day in New York City, we'd have massive buildings that tower into the skyline. Or even that one day we'd have a group of bad guys hijack some of those jet planes and fly them into two of those really tall buildings.One thing I'd bet my life on, though, is that those authors did know that there are criminals everywhere and that there always will be. I am an NRA life member and my AR15 sits safely and legally in my gun cabinet. And I "have the right to keep and bear arms."Buddy Van Sickle, Liberty Center, OhioHate and violence is the problemStiff gun control laws will not stop violence. The base issue we are dealing with is violence and hatred. Violent mass shootings have reinvigorated the gun control debate with the media giving emphasis to the party that believes stiff gun control laws is the cure for mass violence. Students have held demonstrations and walk outs. Movements have started like #NeverAgain which recently held "March for Our Lives." Being overlooked in their argument is the truth that laws do not apply to criminals. Gun control simply impedes the rights of law abiding citizens. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution reads, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." More gun control laws would infringe upon the right to bear arms.If a criminal is going to break the law, they will find a way. Even in countries with very stiff gun control laws, criminals will get access to a gun.The world isn't perfect and you can't legislate it to perfection. Even if a law was passed to ban all guns and then all guns disappeared overnight, murder and violence would continue. We need to focus on curing the hatred and violence that plagues our country.Breanne Spence, Dallas  Continue reading...