Letter: A Rifle Is Just a Tool
To the Editor:
I cannot understand how some people can blame a tool for the job it does. I understand the feelings of loss that recent tragedies have inflicted on us — we are a caring nation — but to blame the tool instead of the person holding it is wrong. Do we blame the car when someone drinks and drives and harms somebody? No, we don’t. A rifle is a tool just like any other; it should be treated with respect. Creating more and more laws that inhibit our freedoms is wrong, also. Maybe we should look into actually punishing criminals for their crimes, instead of the slap on the wrist that most get. Criminals are sent back to the streets to continue their assault on good, honest people.
I have taught my children to respect firearms and how to use them. We enjoy going to the various local ranges to shoot targets, and we have a family competition to see who can achieve the best shots. Last year, we could enjoy most of a day shooting our .22s for under $40. Next year, it may cost $300 for the same activity, and that will end our summer fun.
So ask yourself if it’s worth losing more of our rights — including our right to protect ourselves — to the media storm of untruths about registered gun owners.
Michael A. Thibodeau
Hartford
