Guns are useful in some cases

Dear Editor,

I am a 21-year-old woman who is afraid of the growing gun-control trend.

I was surprised by Melanie Frost's editorial "An over-glorified freedom" regarding the need for gun control.

I am sure she meant well, but she is mistaken and uninformed about guns and society.

Today it is politically correct to hate guns and promote gun control, yet this is detrimental to society and our civil rights.

Frost said "Guns are only used for one purpose: killing." When used by the bad guys, yes, but not when used by law-abiding citizens.

Armed citizens wound or kill two percent of criminals they encounter, 98 percent of the time the gun is never fired, according to an article in Women and Guns magazine. It is used to stop the criminal, not to kill him or her.

If guns were not accessible to law abiding citizens, then only the criminals would have guns. Criminals, by definition, do not obey the laws.

They buy their guns on the street through the black market or steal them.

No waiting period, finger printing or registration will hinder a criminal. Those who want to protect themselves would pay the price. Gang members, robbers and rapists often use illegally obtained guns. Therefore, gun control does not affect them.

Frost said "... many accidents stem from possession of a gun ... children who accidentally shoot themselves or others because a gun was not properly hidden and secured."

This is due to a lack of knowledge that children and guns do not mix. They must be taught, like everyone else, that guns can kill.

They see the Terminator blow everyone up, but they do not see the ramifications of his actions. We teach children that knives are sharp and fire is hot.

We need to teach them that guns can kill. The answer is not "Do not own a gun!" as Frost claims.

One never knows where or when a child could come in contact with a gun, he or she needs to be prepared.

He or she could find one at a friend's house, at a family member's house, on the street. The child could even fall into the wrong crowd.

Education is the key.

Frost said, "Owning a gun should not be a right, but a privilege." This mentality scares me the most. Who will decide who can "legally" protect him or herself? When guns are made a privilege, people become oppressed.

American Indians were refused their right to own firearms when our government decided they were incapable of handling them, which was an excuse to prevent them from protecting their families from military rule. The Trail of Tears sound familiar?

African Americans were restricted their right to gun ownership by our government because "their brains were not developed enough."

This gave the Ku Klux Klan even more power to lynch and torture them, since they were left defenseless.

The Black Panthers felt their right to self-defense was what would save them, and they were right. They helped stop police brutality and attacks from racists. The racists were the privileged and the minorities were the unprivileged.

Hitler said, "The worst we can do would be to allow the citizens to own guns." The people he killed had their guns taken from them first. The Jews had no way to stop the Gestapo when their homes were raided and family members taken to concentration camps. Hitler's reign still pervades in our society, evidenced by the 1968 Gun Control Act, which was based on Hitler's Nazi Weapons Law of 1938.

If gun control is the answer, explain why Washington, D.C., is the murder capital of the country while having the strictest gun control.

It is illegal to own any assembled firearm there. The more restrictions that are put on law-abiding citizens, the more powerful criminals become.

Does anyone remember the Los Angeles riots?

The stores and homes that had guns were the ones that were left alone by looters. There was nothing the police could do, they were simply outnumbered.

There is a reason guns are referred to as peacemakers, they equal the playing field and stop violence when in the hands of law- abiding citizens.

Why not choose to protect oneself first?

­ Jessica Kirst

Film and Electronic Arts