Only our gun rights guarantee all other rights

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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The editorial (Dec. 1) on Massachusetts' current influx of guns supposedly coming from Maine amazes me. Massachusetts is a state that has been trying to get its gun-control agenda on a federal level for years. To justify its gun-control failings, it is now blaming other New England states for its problems. Their gun-control laws don't work.

Newspaper editors like you say, "What harm does a little registration or getting a permit cause to law-abiding citizens?" Ask yourself this: Are you willing to go through the same registration process and permitting to state your opinion or print your newspaper? Your right to print your opinion is guaranteed by the same piece of paper that guarantees the right to bear arms without government infringement. It's no different.

Ultimately, the only thing that would allow you to fight this control is the many millions of law-abiding gun owners. Like it or not, the right to bear arms is the only thing that guarantees the rest. We enjoy a relatively safe environment here in Maine due to the possession of firearms, and more importantly, our common sense.

I guess people who move here and want here to be like where they used to live should go back to where they came from. Let Mainers decide what we do, not Massachusetts. They have caused enough of their own troubles.

Jody Barney

Madison