The debate over gun control has devolved into an exchange of misinformation. Here are the facts. Firstly, the majority of Americans — including NRA members — do actually support common-sense gun regulation. Secondly, simple possession of a firearm does not make you safer. Thirdly, regulations do make a difference. For example, the CDC estimates that firearm fatalities will eclipse traffic fatalities by 2015. Whereas cars and drivers are strictly regulated, gun regulations continue to erode. Today, virtually anyone can purchase a firearm through unlicensed private sales.
Former Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger once stated that the Second Amendment “has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word ‘fraud,’ on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime.” Indeed, until the pivotal 2003 D.C. vs. Heller case, the Second Amendment had never been interpreted as the Amendment that gave Americans the right to bear arms for defensive purposes. Rather, the right to self-defense and the right to use firearms for this purpose was — and has been — the domain of state constitutions. In Washington state, the right to bear arms is guaranteed under Section 24. Even so, to quote Justice Scalia’s majority, “the rights secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.”
This is why I ask that responsible firearm owners to fight against misinformation and to support legislation that supports responsible gun owners. This November, please support I-594 so that all firearm sales and transfers receive background checks.
James Harmon
Lake Stevens
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
