THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503170016
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Every time I am about ready to return to The Virginian-Pilot during the week, I am hit in the face with something such as the article on gun control by staff writer Dave Addis (Commentary, March 5).
The spirit of Mr. Addis' piece seems to echo the liberal idea that people are incompetent to direct their own lives, spend their own money or, in this case, defend themselves.
We did not get to the point of gun-permit legislation overnight. The immediate cause is the arbitrary denials by some judges.
But beyond that there is the legally and practically acknowledged fact that the police cannot protect any individual on a continuous basis. Without in any way denigrating them, law-enforcement officials always want full citizen cooperation after the crime: This is the prevention side of that cooperation. It is a fact that, however willingly or reluctantly, many citizens feel the need to arm themselves.
Analogous uncertainties do not prevent sensible people from buying causality insurance and saving for their old age. We regret the money ``wasted'' on premiums for years in which no loss occurred and our investments may not turn out as well as we had hoped. We act on our perception of the risk involved. There is no question that the risk of death or serious injury is virtually ever present everywhere today. Only those with their heads in the sand deny this.
JAMES N. GARRETT JR.
Portsmouth, March 6, 1995 by CNB