To the Editor:
I am writing to disagree with “When did we choose to ignore safety?” April 9, The Lincoln County News, by Jarryl Larson.
Maine is not the first or second state to consider the Constitutional Carry issue as at least six other states either already have Constitutional Carry or are considering and last word on the evening news is that all those considering are expected to enact.
Concealed weapons go back far beyond the Constitution to before the Chinese even invented gun powder. This is simply human nature.
I feel badly that Mrs. Larson suffered the indignity of a crime perpetrated against her, but I do not think it wise to say police cannot tell if one is carrying a concealed weapon. Of course there are times when they do not know, due to a heavy winter coat or something, but they are trained to look for many tell tale signs.
Since when does disparaging law enforcement move any debate forward? In fact it does just the opposite as the more inept law enforcement is made to appear, the greater the need for “responsible” people to carry a concealed weapon. Whereas Maine’s law enforcement community is one of the best in the nation, and therefore the world, let us not drag them down to further a personal agenda.
L.D. 652 does not create an unsafe situation. As Mrs. Larson puts it this law would merely authorize a person who has already passed the background check to buy the firearm to carry said firearm concealed. What is unsafe is when a ‘responsible’ law abiding citizen, like I’m sure Mrs. Larson is, comes face to face with some ‘irresponsible’ person who would prefer to use a gun instead of their brain to get what they want.
My Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines responsible as: able to fulfill one’s obligations; reliable, trustworthy; able to choose between right and wrong. Are these not just exactly the sort of people who should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon?
I cannot help but wonder if Mrs. Larson’s perpetrator already had a criminal record which points up the problem with his argument as criminals do not obey the law in the first place. In the second place any fool who fails to pass a background check can both purchase and carry illegally.
Therefore, shouldn’t our laws target the illegal activities of the ‘irresponsible’ criminal element in our society and punish them rather than put ‘responsible,’ trustworthy citizens into an unsafe situation?
Dave Ricker
Wiscasset
