The letter from Vance Armor (”Beware a well-armed government, Jan. 16, Oklahoma Gazette) indicates that he learned neither of those lessons, nor the ones taught in what was once called “civics.”
I served on the committee for examining the “active shooter” issue for the American College of Forensic Examiners. Our conclusion was that the greatest problem we have with firearms is the growing number of radical anarchists who see every effort to bring sanity to protecting constitutional rights regarding firearms as an attempt to marginalize civil rights and weaken the ability of citizens to control their government. This attitude stems mainly from the lack of real-world experience of these people, most of whom either ducked military service or were found unfit to serve.
Anyone who has actually been in combat will tell you that the first lesson is to respect firearms and the consequences of misuse or poor control. They will also tell you that the oath to defend the Constitution does not extend to mistreating the citizenry. I believe there would be mass desertions and riots if anyone tried to force the military to turn on the citizens.
On the broad issue of control of access to firearms, I believe that those who preach absolute freedom to “keep and bear arms” are ignorant of the actual meaning of the decisions reached by the U.S.
Supreme Court on Second Amendment rights. You can keep your guns so long as you obey the laws intended to protect the welfare of the rest of us. Mr. Armor’s avowed nihilism and anarchic rhetoric gives me pause.
—Thomas Baines, Oklahoma City
