LETTER: Only the well-trained should handle guns

To the editor:

Kudos to Kathleen Parker for her well-written and clearly well-thought-out commentary on the right to bear concealed weapons (“It might be best to give sanity a shot,” June 13 Review-Journal). I was well-trained while in the service during the Korean War. I earned medals for marksmanship with all the arms we were given: M-1s, 45s, carbines and machine guns.

Luckily, I never had to shoot at a live target. It is a lot harder to shoot another human than to hit a target. I’ve had many contacts with macho men and know that their mouths are faster than their guns. It is hard to convince a gun owner how hard it is to fire at a human. One must look at the person they want to shoot and still have the ability to pull the trigger. We still have to be well-qualified to fire at a human. This is one reason we have continuous training for the police and the military.

Yet the sad instance of the June 8 shooting of two police officers and an armed civilian shows even the best are not always ready to protect themselves, as well as those around them. A nut will always find a way to take his or her problems out on someone.

We need the well-trained. We don’t need the weekend shooters going to public places with weapons strapped on their backs or in their pockets, so that they can play John Wayne in their heads. Maybe the best thing to do is ban bullets. As long as the National Rifle Association has influence over the gun nuts, there will be senseless killings.

BOB HARTMAN

LAS VEGAS