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Gun control discriminates against law-abiding citizens

• Published: March 10, 2013
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In “Enforcing current laws crucial to gun debate” (Point of View, Feb. 27), Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, mentioned the Second Amendment three times. How many have ever read the Second Amendment? In its entirety, the amendment reads as follows: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The term “militia,” as used at the time the Constitution was framed, didn't refer to a National Guard, which can be under federal control. Rather, it described all males in the population (private citizens) between the ages of 17 and 45, most of whom owned guns. The Founders, along with many other citizens, were wary of having a powerful federal army commanded by a centralized government because they thought it created the potential for oppression. So, they wanted private citizens to be armed, just in case.

The people in America today who want to tightly control gun ownership are going against the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. Their crusade would discriminate against many citizens. The millions of law-abiding men and women who own their legally acquired guns are continuing a long-standing American tradition of being prepared. Who knows if we're facing perilous times as early Americans did?

Casey Carlton, Edmond