LETTER: Our right to own guns needs to be ‘well-regulated’

To the editor:

The level of gun violence in our country is appalling, and it’s all about the children — sad and confused children with access to killing machines, killing each other. They’re full of fear. They see the propaganda and don’t know how to interpret it. Gun “enthusiasts” are mocking child victims of gun violence. There is widespread adulation of Adolf Hitler and the Confederate States of America. These are not American values, at least not in the America I hold in my heart. It’s past time to address these issues and make guns safer for our society.

We all know what is meant by an assault-style rifle. This is a firearm designed to hunt people — rapid fire, high magazine capacity. I’m not gracing the argument of “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” with any more than this: We need gun laws that protect the safety of all citizens of New York. Our nation is suffering an epidemic of child on child massacre and we need to do something before it reaches our hometown.

Yes, in New York, we have some of the strongest gun safety laws in the country. But in a country with the weakest gun laws, does that really make us safe? I’m a gun owner. As such, I know there are ways we can keep to our traditions, and still make our state safer. For example:

Ban the ownership of high magazine assault style weapons.
Update “Hunter’s Safety” courses to include more practical instruction.
Require mental health screening for all gun purchases.
Require inspection of the storage facilities.
Place limits on the number of firearms one can own unless a licensed dealer or collector.
Increase mental health services in schools to help these young people before they commit these crimes.

It’s important to remember that no one law will make things better. We will need a comprehensive look at the safety measures in place to find ways to improve upon them.

The right to bear arms is not being disputed. But as a society, we need to start looking at the beginning of the Second Amendment where it states the need for a “well-regulated” militia. If we are to maintain the right to own guns, we need to be safer in our regulation of them.

Our children are in jeopardy. They are all victims, the ones watching the stories on TV, the bystanders, the dead and injured, the shooters themselves. What drives the children to commit these heinous crimes? The time for thoughts and prayers will never end, but it’s time now to take action. For the sake of our children, we can’t afford to wait any longer.