We have a right to protect ourselves

To the editor:

In his Dec. 31 letter 'Our society needs more gun regulation,” Jeremy Brigham described eight Cedar Rapids homicides.

He said, 'Stabbing caused one death. In two cases, the means were not disclosed.” Then he launched into an anti-firearms tirade, blaming former Gov. Chet Culver for signing legislation changing the wording for issuing gun permits from sheriffs 'may issue” to 'shall issue.” He said this set the stage for our city's increased homicide rate. He's comparing apples to oranges. Increasing concealed-carry permits has never increased homicides in any jurisdiction. In fact, the results are exactly opposite.

Were any of his five local murders committed by vetted CCW holders? I'll bet not. As usual, the perpetrators utilized illegal guns that they were already prohibited from having.

He added that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 28, 2010, that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is fundamental. That's correct. He disagrees, claiming gun-owning citizens have to belong to an organized militia. Wrong. Our Founding Fathers considered all adult males and many females to be part of a permanent militia to protect themselves, their communities and the nation.

People such as George Washington, Noah Webster, Thomas Jefferson, Elbridge Gerry, George Mason, etc., believed free people should be armed. Samuel Adams succinctly summed up their feelings: 'The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States from keeping their own arms.”

Dean Varner

Cedar Rapids