This letter was printed in the newspaper on December 22, 1993.

Richmond Times-Dispatch
P.O. Box 85333
Richmond, VA 23293
Attn: Editor of Editorial Page

Dear Sir,

I am absolutely livid and feel compelled to write about another proposed abuse of our rights as Americans.

Once again we hear our government officials talking about gun control. Because of the recent tragedy on the Long Island Railroad our officials feel the need to once again trot out more inane calls for gun controls. I will readily confess to not being a rocket scientist so I must enlist your help. I WANT SOMEONE TO EXPLAIN TO ME HOW REGISTERING HANDGUN OWNERS IS GOING TO STOP THE PROLIFERATION OF CRIME THAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN THIS COUNTRY!?

Please note that they want to register handgun owners, not criminals with guns. Why, you ask? Because law-abiding citizens are easier to find, catch, and confiscate weapons from when the time comes. Do any of you believe that a criminal is going to have his gun registered? Those of us who obey the law do so because we do not choose to see jail as an occupational hazard. All the while those who would victimize us will still have guns and will still be out on parole rather than in jail where they belong.

Our right to protect ourselves is being stripped away on a day by day basis. CAN’T ANYONE SEE THAT!? We are told that locking criminals up for long periods of time will not work. HOW DO OUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS KNOW THIS WHEN THEY HAVE REFUSED TO EVEN TRY IT!? They are so quick to blame guns for every evil that we face that they refuse to hold the perpetrator accountable. These are the same people who say that we should put the drunk driver in jail for a long time, take away his license, etc. They do not call for the taking away of everyone’s car. But when it comes to those who use guns they do not talk of putting them in jail for extended periods of time. They talk about taking away everyone’s handguns.

I would close by making two important points. Those of you who think the government is not ultimately interested in taking away your guns altogether should talk to someone who survived Nazi Germany! Ask that person why Hitler had the citizens register their guns? The reason is quite simple - he was then able to come right to their door and take away from them the very weapons they had registered.

Second, while crime is certainly a legitimate reason to have and carry a gun for protection, it is not the primary reason our forefathers put the second amendment in the Bill of Rights. Now don’t just take my word for it, find a book about Jefferson, Adams, Washington, et al and read about their ideas regarding the Constitution of the United States of America. You will find that the right to bear arms was so that the citizenry could protect themselves from an intrusive and abusive government.

Are we faced with such a government today!? You decide, I think the answer is quite clear. I can only hope that my fellow citizens, who value their liberty, will stand up, be counted, and oppose such onerous legislation. We are not the problem! Let us insist that the government, whose responsibility is to protect the law-abiding, not the criminals, will see the ere of it’s way and start putting criminals in jail and keeping them there.

I will pray that common sense will prevail.

Yours for Liberty,

Floyd C. Bayne

cc: John C. Watkins
Joseph B. Benedetti
Thomas J. Bliley, Jr.
Charles S. Robb
John W. Warner
L. Douglas Wilder
Edward Barber