Letters to the Editor for March 3, 2010

Silence won’t protect your guns

Today a hot-button issue that should not exist is gun control. That is, restrictions on the ownership, possession and carrying of firearms. In my studied opinion, those who support such restrictions are clearly ignorant of the historical facts, or are deceitful in their objective.

History of the U.S. Constitution clearly shows the framers’ intent was that all citizens should be armed. Control of the government they had just created, but wisely did not trust, was one of their justifications. Thus, the 2nd Amendment to the new Constitution. Events in other nations demonstrate our forefathers’ wisdom.

History shows that after outlawing private gun ownership, the Soviet Union killed 20 million of its citizens; Turkey killed 1.5 million; Germany killed 1.3 million; China killed 20 million; Guatemala killed 100,000; Uganda killed 300,000; Cambodia killed 1 million. It is estimated that during the 20th century approximately 56 million innocent individuals were murdered by their own governments because they couldn’t resist. Could we be next?

A recent example of apparent well-intended gun control is Australia. After a year of gun control, which cost the people some $500 million, the results are very revealing. Homicides up 3.2 percent. Assaults up 8.6 percent. Armed robbery up an astonishing 44 percent. Only outlaws and police now have guns, a fact guaranteed by government. When seconds count, police are minutes or hours away!

In the United States one of the favorite justifications for control of gun ownership is violence in the streets. But such laws only make outlaws safe. Your government will have assured them that when they enter your house to rape and plunder, you will be defenseless.

The issue is not really guns, it is the right to self-defense. And where there is no self-defense, there is no reliable defense at all. You are about to become defenseless in the face of armed and evil aggressors, yet the public — you — seem unconcerned.

We do not know the motivation of those who spend millions of dollars each year attempting to disarm us. But we can see clearly what can happen if they succeed. And only you can stop them. Silence won’t!

Jasper H. Coombes

Richland

Unhappy? Stand up, be counted

I want to ask forgiveness from everyone who voted for Obama. You didn’t like the way our nation was going, and wanted a change. I felt the same way. Each President presents a problem but we the public are to blame. We aren’t entitled to a free lunch off of those that own businesses or are successful on their own. In every State we need to vote out both Republicans and Democrats. They are the ones that control our money. They are the ones that are turning us into a second-rate country.

The money they are spending is ours, and they’re selling us to other countries. Walden, our representative, is adding earmarks worse than some of the Democrats. We are broke Mr. Walden, quit spending money we don’t have.

And you, Senator Wyden, you sit back and vote party lines whether you think it’s good or not. You aren’t even an Oregonian! You have been living off us for over 35 years and it’s time you go! I would like to see a local Tea Party. Not one made up of radicals, but ordinary down to the earth people who use common sense. People who are willing to go street by street and get our local people to join us in cleaning out all of our corrupt Congress!

Only 19 or 20 people out of 100 like what they’re doing. That means there are 80 of us that don’t. I say it’s time we stand up and be counted.

George Wilder

Baker City