Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Letter to the editor:

Banning guns impedes rights

I read the New York Times editorial titled “Silence on gun control at debate appalling” (Las Vegas Sun, Dec. 20) and would like to set the record straight.

San Bernardino radical Muslim terrorist Syed Farook was afraid he couldn’t purchase the two semi-automatic rifles used in the attack, so his friend Enrique Martinez purchased them for him. When you purchase a firearm you must fill out an National Instant Criminal Background Check System form. One of the questions on that form is: “Are you actually transferee/buyer of the firearm(s) listed on this form?” When a person gives a false answer, he or she has committed a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250. The problem is the federal government rarely prosecutes this crimes, and according to former Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent John Risenhoover, “Most federal judges look at them as a waste of their time.”

The editorial suggests re-imposing the “assault weapons ban” would reduce crime, but statistics say otherwise! The editorial also says other countries have enacted “sensible controls” that have reduced gun deaths. He is correct. Countries such as Australia, Britain and France have all but outright banned the private possession of guns, something that is against our Second Amendment!

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