DDN prints reponses to ''Mad'' Mary McCarty
Despite the thousands of federal and state gun control laws on the books, Charles McCoy still walked around carrying a concealed gun, shooting willy-nilly at anything that moved, immortalizing himself as the Ohio sniper suspect.
Whether or not he could have gotten a concealed carry license matters none. The Ohio sniper didn't wait until April 8 to begin his sickening crime spree, and yet Dayton Daily News writer Mary McCarty recently editorialized that other potential bad people are.
As you can see, DDN readers know better...
April 1, 2004
Dayton Daily News
Conceal-carry law won't affect criminals
RE MARY MCCARTY'S COLUMN "GUN LAW CON- ceals loopholes," March 21: McCarty states her case by quoting a source about "thousands" of Ohioans who are "short-tempered" and "ticking time bombs," and she seems to think people are eagerly counting the days to get their conceal-carry permits, ready to lay aside their honest, law-abiding ways to embark on a life of crime.
McCarty seeks to politicize the Interstate 270 shooter to pander her blatantly anti-self-defense agenda. She weakly cites so-called "loopholes" regarding mental illness in background checks to draw a comparison between sniper suspect Charles A. McCoy Jr. and future conceal-carry permit holders.
This is not surprising in light of her source, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which has a checkered history of pushing anti-gun sentiment with a toxic blend of bias, half-truths and blind emotion.
The truth of the matter is that criminals and criminally minded people will not be affected by conceal-carry laws. The I-270 shooter criminally misused a firearm and deserves the severest punishment. But, a conceal-carry permit would not have made the shooter's actions any less criminal.
Conceal-carry laws give honest folks a viable defense against senseless and irrational criminals.
Jim Britton
Dayton
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McCarty's column off target
Mary McCarty's column, "Gun law conceals loopholes," March 21, is off target.
Charles A. McCoy Jr., the sniper suspect, may have qualified for a license to carry a concealed handgun under the new Ohio law, but it wouldn't matter.
If McCoy is found to be the sniper, would denying him a license have prevented the highway shootings or the senseless death of a passenger in one of the cars? No, because criminals don't need a license to commit crimes.
Criminals carry guns regardless of the law. Currently, we don't issue conceal-carry permits. Yet almost every day, I read about shootings in the newspaper.
No system is perfect, but why deny my constitutional right to protect myself and my family? Our men and women in law enforcement do a great job, but usually after the crime has been committed.
Let's punish criminals for their crimes, not law-abiding citizens.
Daniel Sternsher
Clarksville
Law not meant to remove guns
Re "Gun law conceals loopholes," March 21: Mary McCarty misses the objective of the new gun law entirely. The objective is to allow citizens to carry a concealed weapon of defense; it's not to remove weapons from people.
The suspect in the Columbus-area shootings had weapons and may have chosen to use them. He would be unaffected by the new gun law. Determining the will of anyone is difficult, if not impossible, regardless of the person's adjudged mental stability.
If a gunman chooses to accost you, the new law will allow you to defend yourself appropriately with a concealed weapon. The law has no effect upon the unlawful gun-toters already loose on our streets.
Frank P. Klatt
Beavercreek
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