DEAR EDITOR:

In the aftermath of the horrible shootings in Connecticut, it is natural to try to punish someone or take steps to prevent such an occurrence. The sad truth is that you can’t. The gun is an inanimate object which has no life of its own. Why punish the millions of responsible gun owners for the actions of a few?

It is your constitutional right to own a gun, but not to use it unwisely. How do we prevent such a tragedy? All or most of the school shooters were on drugs for mental conditions, I am told. Even if we start in the cradle to educate our children to respect others, there will always be some who have their own agendas to harm others.

The president is using the Connecticut tragedy to push through his plan to disarm the American public, which would make us all vulnerable and unable to protect ourselves from those who would do us harm. And remember, a person cannot be prosecuted for a crime until he actually does it, or attempts to do it. So, even if you suspect a person is capable of criminal action, there is little you can do about it. If a criminal knows there are no guns in the house, home invasions and burglaries will go up immensely.

Another thing about gun control — that forces criminals to find other means, and that could mean a greater number of casualties. No guns were used on 9/11, which murdered 3,000. The Oklahoma bomber murdered over 100 people with a homemade bomb. No guns were used.

Please don’t let the horrendous event of what happened in Connecticut cloud your judgment about gun control. No gun has ever, to my knowledge, killed anyone on its own.

I think it was The Phantom who started his program with “Who knows what evil lies in the hearts of men?”

Barbara Taylor

Powder Springs