Young letter: Responsible gun owner

The “responsible gun owner” lobby got shot in the foot again ... actually, unsurprisingly, it was two innocent bystanders who got shot in their legs. Twice in three years, some “responsible” gun owner entered an Idaho gun show with a gun that the “responsible” owner didn’t know was loaded, and people got shot. How comforting that Expo Idaho’s director plans to “figure out safer ways to do everything.” Where’s Lewis Clark Trader’s promise to guarantee participants’ safety?

Argue all you want that this was one in a million. I’m sick and tired of the gun lobby’s mantra, “responsible gun owners are religiously careful.” Later that weekend I was in that very building; how happy I am that I wasn’t one of the ones shot.

After the Umpqua Community College massacre, some local gun advocates’ letters suggested that “gun control” was responsible for the carnage. Read the real news, folks. Two or more licensed CC adherents were armed on campus that day. While they may have violated school policy being armed, Oregon state law allows schools — not the government — to prohibit firearms in school buildings. “More guns” are not the solution to gun violence; the shooter had “more guns” on him.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Young letter: Responsible gun owner."