The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

I have a lifetime honorary membership in a gun range. I have owned a gun since I was eleven years old. I have enjoyed hunting, skeet shooting, target practice and own more guns than most. No one can accuse me of being anti-gun.

It is now, however, time to do away with silly arguments such as advocating that more guns with less restrictions make us all safer. Or, that any legislation passed such as prohibiting silencers or twenty round clips will lead to the government taking all our guns. There is no logical reason people should not be required to have a gun permit, showing they have passed a background check for mental problems or criminal history before receiving a permit to carry a gun.

No one can answer the question about why is the United States the country that leads the world in gun deaths.

My message to my fellow gun owners is as follows: If you continue to oppose all reasonable restrictions on gun ownership and use, eventually the tide will turn, Americans will have enough and politicians will be convinced to start taking guns away from us.