Search for real answers to prevent mass killings

As a gun owner, I realize many people dislike firearms and eagerly latch onto the idea of stricter gun laws. I'm not asking that you like firearms but that you take the time to think over the issue. This tragedy at its core involved a mentally ill killer and the inability of school officials and teachers to effectively defend those in their care. Restrictions on law-abiding gun owners won't change these two things.

The Founders wisely recognized our right to self-defense against evildoers and tyrannical governments by stating in the Bill of Rights that citizens have the uninfringed right to keep and bear firearms. I don't ask that you like firearms but that you love freedom. Join the search for real answers to prevent mass killings. Make no mistake: Additional restrictions on what guns or high-capacity magazines can be sold will do nothing to prevent such killings but will be a dangerous step toward gun confiscation. Loss of firearms would be disastrous for our liberty and put the weak, elderly and vulnerable at the mercy of criminals.

Marley Beem, Stillwater