The following letter was sent to Sen. Ernie Lopez with a copy submitted to the Cape Gazette for publication.
Really? You can't bring yourself to support an assault weapons ban such as HB163? Assault weapons are made to mow down people and armies in a war zone. They can shoot innumerable bullets per minute and penetrate cars and most residential building material.
I suppose you have friends and neighbors who go hunting with an AK47 or an AR15, or perhaps they need these weapons to protect their families from "well organized" armies of intruders? What state or country do you live in?
As a modern society, we protect ourselves from cars becoming lethal weapons by insisting upon licensing drivers, auto insurance and registering our cars. Why can't we do this with guns? If you are a legit responsible gun owner, no problem!
As you should know, Delaware ranks in the middle of states for the occurrence of gun violence. The states with stricter laws, such as Massachusetts and Rhode Island have less gun violence. I don't want to take guns away from any responsible hunters and those who want to reasonably protect their families. I am impressed that you would agree that we need to keep guns away from a few of those with a serious mental illness that, in the minority of cases, can be dangerous to themselves and others.
Many of those mentally ill with commanding hallucinations aren't even identified until it is too late. We need to do more.
Since most gun violence is committed with handguns, I would suggest a bill wherein the parents or adults, who own guns and keep them at home or who supervise minors in the use of any firearms, such as in the case of hunting, be held accountable for any actions or acts of violence that may occur by minors. This may encourage parents to keep their children safe. Most kids are not killed by intruders but by their own mischief and their parents' neglect by not keeping such lethal weapons locked up and away.
In addition, no doubt, automatic weapons on the open market make our police and state troopers even more on edge and possibly react too aggressively in tense situations. I encourage you and your colleagues to lead and enact any and every bill that reduces unnecessary gun violence, in line with the leaders in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I am so proud of the youth today rising up and demanding that you do your job. It is your job and the job of government to protect us, your citizens, and to protect your police force. We no longer need a "well-organized militia," other than the police to protect us as is stated in our Constitution.
The NRA has done the opposite of what our forefathers intended in the Second Amendment by now making us less safe with reckless, unregulated gun markets. Our greatest threat is the NRA and the arms dealers who want everyone and every country to have all the weapons they can imagine. They even buy our politicians. Don't let them buy you. Enough is enough.
Thank you for attention to this important issue.
Brenda Kriegel, LCSW
Rehoboth Beach
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