The letter to the editor in the [Dec. 19] Transcript by Tom Decker, "Banning guns is not the way to prevent tragedies," is way off the tracks of reality.
Mr. Decker says that people who commit crimes with guns are either mentally ill or have obtained the guns illegally and have no valid permit. That’s wrong in the Connecticut shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as the killer used his mother’s legally obtained weapons that had legal permits. Yes, the shooter may have been mentally ill, but he didn’t have any guns. He got them the same way most perps get guns. He stole them! He then forced his way into the school killing first grade children. If mom didn’t have the guns, there would have been no chance for him to kill those children.
Back in the 1800s in the Wild West here in America, the marshal hung a sign up at the town limits. It read: "Check your guns in with the sheriff or go to jail." They knew guns cause deaths even back then. Things are just as violent now and we need for the gun people to check their guns in with the sheriff. Then the sheriff can round up all the violators and all the illegal guns. Isn’t that what you want, Mr. Decker?
Tom King
Shaftsbury, Vt.
Dec. 19
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