Letters: Second Amendment is a right, not a privilege; women remember back alley abortions
Look at preventing people from killing
The Second Amendment was added to the Bill of Rights to guarantee our right to protect ourselves first from government both foreign and domestic. The founders were not out duck hunting — they were fighting the British for our freedom from oppression. In fighting for our independence, they spoke of forming a militia. Said militia was made up of individual patriots banding together to defeat the British specifically, and to make sure our rights were never threatened again.
Most people want to ignore the Supreme Court decision which was released in June after examining the Federalist papers and other writings of Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, and others concerning the individual right of each citizen to own guns. A right which specifically states: "shall not be infringed." Those arms include all bearable arms. Cannons, tanks and such are not bearable arms. Contrary to what Rick Feinberg stated in his June 26 column (“We must find proper balance to achieve reasonable gun control”), it includes arms in common use. The AR-15 is the one of the most numerous common arms in the United States.
The Second Amendment is a right! It is not a privilege like driving a car or becoming an attorney or a doctor.
A right does not need to be licensed nor should it be. When any privilege is misused, there are legal consequences due to the laws of the land concerning said misuse. Taking away the rights of law-abiding citizens because some people misuse them is against the Constitution and the rights of the people.
Feinberg was correct in saying people kill people (they have been killing people since Cain and Abel). Most if not all of the mass shootings have a basis in mental illness of some degree. If you want to solve the problem, figure out how to prevent those people from killing others, regardless of what implement they use, be it a car, a knife, a gun or their fist, as occurred and was reported by the Beacon Journal last month.
Known mental health issues can no longer be ignored. Mental health issues must be reported to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check system (NICS) in all instances. Policing of social sites. Taking a serious approach on the violence issues of students, especially if they have made threats, will indeed solve the school problem; and taking the gangs and drug pushers off the streets will end drive-by shootings and other violence in the streets.
Dale Cameron, Stow
Women remember when abortion was illegal
Regarding the July 6 letter “Roe decision was ‘wrong from the start,’” the writer may believe that most Americans don't support abortion, but poll after poll has revealed that a majority of Americans do support abortion access in some form. I can assure her that women born before 1973 supported the right to a legal and safe abortion. We just weren't allowed by law to seek one and had to resort to back alley abortions that are not safe. We women who remember what life was like before 1973 are working overtime to keep abortion safe and legal. No woman who finds herself in an unwanted pregnancy should have to experience a back alley abortion. Safe and legal abortion access is necessary.
Jane Minner, Cuyahoga Falls
Voice of the People
All letters submitted to the Beacon Journal must have the writer’s name, address and daytime telephone number for confirmation purposes. All letters are subject to editing. Maximum length for letters is 300 words.
Email: VOP@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: US Constitution protects rights of law-abiding gun owners
