To the Editor:
In the Nov. 3 issue of The Catholic Messenger it is noted that one of the priorities of the Iowa bishops is legislation for “Gun Safety,” including embracing the U.S. bishops’ call for the prohibition of handguns for civilians and other restrictions of the Second Amendment.
The bishops predictably adopt the catch phrases of the anti-constitution, anti-freedom and anti-personal responsibility crowd. Examples include “Gun Safety;” who wouldn’t want gun safety? Gun safety is provided to Americans by armed military, police and responsible citizens who protect vulnerable innocent persons from violent criminals and terrorists.
“Assault Style Weapons,” real assault weapons, which are fully automatic machine guns, have been heavily restricted, taxed and expensively licensed since the 1930s and are normally owned only by wealthy collectors.
“Assault Style Weapons,” correctly described as modern sporting rifles, are extremely popular for hunting, recreational shooting and protection, as are many other types of semi-automatic rifles. These have been widely used by the military and civilians for over a century. “Universal background checks” would require the “Fed” to be involved, along with fees being charged, when a father passes grandpa’s heirloom squirrel hunting rifle to his son.
“High Capacity Magazines,” which they want to restrict, would mean that a responsible citizen gun owner who is protecting your loved one would be doing so with a five-round magazine, while the law- breaking assailant uses a 30-round magazine.
“Gun Trafficking” is already a federal offense, as well as committing a crime while possessing a firearm. However, many times these crimes are not prosecuted.
I am sure that our bishop and the others have good and holy intentions but I believe they are misguided on this issue. I wonder what the stance of the bishops of Germany was as Hitler disarmed the German civilians?
Myles Miller
Sigourney
