Vietnam veteran forced to register gun he keeps as reminder of service

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that just four people registered their guns on the first day of registration under the city's new Mentel Ban.

One of the four is a man who fought for the very freedom the City of Columbus is now trying to steal away.

From the story:

    Walter C. Rakes went to the city’s License Section office at 750 Piedmont Rd. on the North Side yesterday to pick up an application.

    He has mixed feelings about the law but said he will register his rifle so he can keep a piece of history meaningful to him.

    From 1968 to 1970, Rakes said, he faced the wrong end of an AK-47 in Vietnam, where the rifle was used by the Viet Cong.

    When he saw a Romanianmade version of the weapon at a gun show two years ago in Columbus, Rakes said he didn’t hesitate to buy it. Someday, he wants to leave it to his son. But he said he’s worried because the weapons ban does not permit people to sell or to pass on banned weapons unless they permanently disable the gun.

    When his son looks at the gun, "He’ll know I gave a little of myself to my country and have a remembrance of the Vietnam War," Rakes said.

There aren't words enough to describe the sad irony that occurred when Mr. Rakes registered his rifle. Men like him have fought for our country time and again to prevent the theft of freedom that is now pressing down on the citizens of Columbus.

For more on this absurd gun ban, read:
The Mentel(ly) challenged

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