My heart goes out to the families who were victims of the shooting at Oxford High School. I do not know of any law-abiding gun owner who would approve of these actions.
In a Dec. 15 letter to the editor, “Wake up call for gun legislation,” the writer appears to blame the firearm used and the lack of strict gun control laws as the problem. As I recall in the school shootings he mentioned, there were warning signs that were ignored. In the Parkland shooting the carnage would have been greatly reduced if the police officer on duty had done his job and stopped the shooter.
The answer is not stricter gun control. As the saying goes, “when guns are outlawed on the outlaws will have guns.”
Anyone who purchases a firearm from a licensed dealer must undergo a federal firearms background check and a federal form from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives must be filled out. In Michigan, to purchase a hand gun from a private owner you must have a Michigan pistol permit. If you have been found guilty of a felony, domestic violence, those who have been committed to a mental institution, persons under certain restraining orders or those who use illegal drugs cannot be in the possession of firearms or ammunition.
Perhaps schools should place metal detectors at all entrances and allow certified staff members to carry.
As a point of interest, the deadliest school massacre took place in Bath, Michigan on May 18, 1927. It resulted in the death of 45 people. The weapon was an explosive placed under the school.
People always want to restrict law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights claiming this will solve the problem. This philosophy has not worked out in cities like Chicago.
If our elected officials do anything it should be that those who commit crimes should be kept off the streets. Too often we read about a convicted murderer or sex offender who gets an early release to only go out and commit a heinous crime in just a matter of days.
—Joe Pilchak,
Capac
