Letter to the Editor: Criminals don't care about gun laws
Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to Ms. Madru’s letter dated June 9, 2022. I honestly was unsure if Ms. Madru’s letter was sincere or satirical? Some of the suggestions she makes are completely unrealistic.
Let me begin by stating that states like California, New York, Illinois, and Hawaii already have some of the strictest gun laws in the country. In the case of Illinois, we all know how well that is working out in Chicago. Want to know why? Because criminals do not follow the law. They don’t care if “special circumstance” charges are added onto their sentence. If and when caught, they are already going to prison (maybe).
As far as here in California, did you know that firearms must be purchased through a Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs)? This applies to new purchases as well as private party transfers (buying a used gun from a private individual). A background check (including fingerprints) is perform by the CA DOJ on the buyer every single time. This includes a built-in “10-day waiting” period. So you don’t do anything rash. There are no exceptions to this requirement. So you can’t just buy a gun through magazines and there is no gun show loophole everyone talks about.
As far as her other suggestions of requiring a medical exam of purchasers, what exactly does that accomplish? If I have high blood pressure or diabetes, rejecting me is going to keep the general populous safe from guns? I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she meant psychological exam, but that’s not what she stated.
Lastly, the last thing any police agency wants are individuals showing up at police stations with firearms. Not happening. And her suggestion for a curfew from 9 pm to 6 am, really? Why stop there? Why not impose martial law?
So what is the solution? I don’t know, this problem is bigger than I, but having more gun laws for the sake of having gun laws is not the solution. This only hurts law abiding citizens as criminals don’t follow laws.
Sonny Diaz
Downey