Firearm violence is not the “American Way” as Tom Owings stated in his June 1st article in the Daily. I feel bad that Tom had to live through such a violent encounter as having a family member threaten his life with a handgun. l know that everyone would agree that this is a terrible thing to experience.

However, we must realize that a handgun is an inanimate object. It is not capable of will, thought or action. It is not possessed of some evil intent that causes people to do horrible things by its mere presence. It is an unfair assumption that just the presence of a gun will cause violence in and of itself. A firearm is not merely a tool that can be used for violence against a person. Tom is only half right about the Supreme Court’s decision of 1939 in U.S. vs. Miller. All the court said was that no evidence was presented showing the possession of a sawed off shotgun had any reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia.

As to Tom’s assertion that the National Guard is the contemporary militia, within this very decision the court stated, “(T)he Militia comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. ‘A body of citizens enrolled for military discipline.’ And further, that ordinarily when called to service these men were expected to appear bearing arms supplied by themselves and of the kind in common use at the time.” The Supreme Court may not have overturned any gun control laws on Second Amendment grounds, but it is clear that the Supreme Court has reaffirmed the right to keep and bear arms in many decisions.

Guns are not out of control in America. Some people are out of control in America and that is precisely why law abiding Americans need the right to keep and bear arms. Millions of people carry firearms every day. In fact if you read the Lott and Mustard study, you’ll see that we are safer when people have and carry handguns.

Jeremy Ryal

Patrol Officer

ISU Dept of Public Safety