Dear editor:
Before I hear and read more letters on how more guns will make us safer, take this in to consideration. Arkansas ranks as the ninth-most armed state in the union and the second-most dangerous state in the union. So more guns does not make one safer.
Also, regarding Chicago and its gun laws: I grew up in Chicago. When guns and gun stores were banned in Chicago and the state of Illinois did not have a conceal/carry law, gun crimes were on the decrease. When the Supreme Court voided most of Chicago's gun laws and forced the state to adopt a conceal/carry law, the murder rate went back up. Also, most of the confiscated guns in Chicago are illegal. They were stolen elsewhere and sent to Chicago for sale.
The surrounding towns and states allow gun ownership and gun stores. This is like the argument that if the U.S. adopts pollution controls and none of the other countries do, what is the point? So we just do nothing? Also, anyone can go to a gun show and buy a gun. Any private citizen can sell a gun to another private citizen, no background checks, no nothing.
When talking gun laws, I am talking gun security and background checks on all gun sales, private, Internet, gun show, etc. There is no penalty for having an unsecured gun in the car, at home, at the office, etc. This has to change. I fail to see how this is infringing on someone's right to own a gun.
Steven Bank
Hot Springs
Editorial on 10/11/2015