Allow citizens to protect themselves

My condolences to the people involved in the Newtown, Conn., school murder.

The City of Chicago is a prime example of why gun control is not the solution to violent crime. Chicago has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. So strict, the court systems have found that they violate the Second Amendment and recently ordered the state to rewrite the laws such that they do not violate the citizens' rights.

Meanwhile, the murder rate in Chicago (por

tal.chicagopolice.org) shows murders in Chicago, while dropping, still are more than 430 people per year (37.5 a month). Where is the outrage in the fact that so many people have been killed in one city alone?

Considering very few people in Chicago legally own guns, let alone do not have the ability to carry a gun, how much safer would the city be if the bad guys didn't know who was carrying, or who had a gun in their home to protect themselves.

Having the ability to defend yourself, or stop somebody who is deranged (either mentally, drugs, or other reasons) is a deterrent to violent crime. States and cities that have reasonable gun laws that allow citizens to protect themselves have much lower gun crime statistics (FBI Uniform Crime Reports).

David Jackson

Atkins