Letter: Laws won't teach responsible use of firearms

I'm not sure when his younger days were, but growing up in the Midwest in the '40s and '50s, guns were readily available to us. My younger brother ordered his first rifle from Sears at age 11, and I ordered my first rifle at age 12. You could buy handguns, no questions asked, ordering them through such catalogs, or through ads in sports magazines.

Our household had six .22-caliber rifles, a .32-caliber revolver, a .22-caliber revolver, a 12-gauge shotgun, and an old muzzle-loading Kentucky long rifle.

Dad taught us to shoot at a young age, but most of all he taught us the proper usage of, and respect for firearms. On top of that, there was a world of personal sales of, swaps of, and general trading in weapons. It wasn't even frowned on. When you grow up around weapons and learn their proper use, you don't have the hysteria I now see in the media about weapons.

We were taught responsible usage, and that the individual handling the weapon was responsible for the outcome, not the weapon itself.

Of course, we could always outlaw guns. That will get them off the streets and keep them out of our schools, just like outlawing drugs has kept them off the streets and out of our schools. Laws don't do it, folks. They just allow you to punish the lawbreaker -- it doesn't stop lawbreaking.

RICHARD FISHBACK

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