Russ Stewart's impassioned arguments in his Dec. 28 Local View commentary, "Firearms prohibitionists take their meddling to people's living rooms," which called for less legislation restricting the sale of guns -- and, in particular, the gun show loophole -- was heavy on ideological rhetoric and short on both common sense and facts.
Many of us who are gun owners understand the fate of gun ownership hinges on responsible and effective legislation rather than ranting about the sanctity of the Second Amendment. The facts are that guns are too easily attained in this country and used too often in violent crimes.
While there is ongoing debate about how to effectively close gun-show loopholes, the vast majority of Americans say it is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Stewart claimed that 99 percent of gun laws are depriving us of our liberty. He even erroneously used a quote from Ben Franklin to supplement his argument. The actual quote Franklin signed off on from a letter to the Assembly to the Governor of Pennsylvania in 1757 read: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Franklin, it is believed, was referring to the colonists who were being swayed by the governor, who was backed by the King of England, in his attempt to alienate the colonists from the assembly and to ask the assembly to pay for arming the Indians to fight other tribes who were sympathetic to the French and who had been marauding the colonists' homes. Ironically, the essential liberty Franklin spoke about was the basic freedom of the colonists to govern and pass their own laws -- and not the right to bear arms as Stewart would lead us to believe.
Stewart might be better served quoting Charlton Heston in the future.
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Mark Brugman
Carlton
