Jerome Behm

Burlington

I am writing in regard to the editorial which was written by Bob Lebacken of Reynolds, ND and which appeared in the Sunday, March 11, 2018 issue of the “Minot Daily News.”

Bob tells of his experience in attending the Dakota Territory gun show in Grand Forks and of how no one was shot or injured during that show, much to the chagrin of the “less than honest, left biased media” and how according to that group everyone attending this show would have been shot. He mentions too that there were thousands of rounds of ammo, thousands of hand guns, rifles, and shot guns of all types, including hundreds of the AR type so demonized, yet the most popular hunting, sport shooting and self-defense rifle in the US. He goes on to say, “Yet no one was shot, no one was killed, and no ammo just went off. Not one gun got up and started shooting.” He asks then if anyone can explain this and to date I have not seen an article by anyone who chose to respond in the “Minot Daily News.” Bob wrote an excellent article and I am wondering if anyone really took it to heart.

I am wondering if anyone in the left biased liberal media even read this article which was so full of the truth. And if anyone in the liberal left wing anti-gun lobby read it, no one in that group offered any defense to it. We hear so much about gun control today and in response to the many shootings which have occurred in the recent past. So many of those who voice their opinions advocate more and stiffer gun laws but let’s stop and give this all some second thought. We don’t have a gun problem in today’s society, rather we have a “people” problem! Guns don’t kill people, people kill people! Of course a gun can easily be used as a means to kill but let’s stop and think about it, so can a hammer or a screwdriver!

A person can be stabbed with a screwdriver just as easily as with a knife and the injuries can be just as fatal. A person can be struck with a hammer and receive fatal injuries too. Yet we never hear of background checks for any home handyman standing in line at the hardware store and wanting to buy his hand tools which might consist of a hammer and a screwdriver.

A motor vehicle can be used to charge into a crowd and injure and kill dozens of people and it has been done before too but yet there is no outcry against motor vehicles. It is by virtue of the actions of people that other people are killed, not by the means that are employed to do it. Yet we are repeatedly told that guns are the problem and must be banned.

When we think of police protection what do we think of? Do we want unarmed policemen running around in an effort to keep the peace or would we rather think that the police are armed and in a position whereby they can offer the proper offense in order to keep the peace? When we see Secret Service personnel viewed in the presence of our government officials do we see them boldly waving olive branches as a symbol of protection?

Anyone who thinks any of this makes any sense is badly mistaken. It only makes sense then to realize that a strong defense is made possible by being able to possess a strong offensive position. It is never possible to bargain for peace through weakness, and this concept will never change.

So many people today see guns exclusively as a means to kill and to cause destruction, but this is not their purpose. The purpose of guns other than for hunting is to serve as a deterrent against crime and for personal protection. I am vividly reminded of my days as a junior enlisted man in the United States Army. We were paid monthly when I was on active duty and by a payroll officer who was usually a first lieutenant. The payroll officer sat at a desk and everyone in the company assembled in alphabetical order to report for pay. Payment was made in paper currency and stacks of various money denominations sat in ordered piles on the payroll officer’s desk. The soldier saluted the payroll officer, stated his rank and name and then stood as the payroll officer counted out the proper payment amount in the presence of the soldier. When the soldier picked up his payment he then was instructed to count it out himself, verify that it was correct, and then sign for it. He then exited the pay area and the next soldier reported for pay. It was a standing part of the payment protocol that a fairly large hand gun was always in plain view beside the payroll officer and on the payroll table and it was his to use at his discretion in the event that it was needed. Everyone who reported for pay could easily see and know the purpose of this firearm and never did I ever see any disturbance of any kind in the payroll process.

The gun was not arrogant, it was not boastful, it did not make any noise at all, it shot no one, and it was always peaceful. It was not offensive in any way and it was not a trouble maker in any sense. Conversely it was a peace keeper and it was there to keep the peace. It was very effective in doing its job and I was always comforted by its presence because I knew I would continue to be safe. It very quietly commanded respect for law and order and was always very effective in doing its job without any noise or commotion of any kind.

I am reminded too of a story whereby a properly qualified man was in the process of giving a gun safety course to several young boys. The course of instruction was especially well tailored for the purpose and everything was going well. A female reporter appeared on the scene in the pretense of interviewing the gun safety instructor. At first it all appeared that it was just a news interview but the reporter was a member of the left biased anti-gun lobby and it became apparent that her questions and comments were only meant to discredit the instructor and to ridicule him as well. She confronted him with the fact that he was giving these boys real firearms to use in training and he countered her with the statement that it was a well organized training course and that no one would be injured in any way. She then went on to say that he was equipping these boys with guns so that they could be killers. He sternly looked at her and said to her, “Well ma’am, I may be mistaken and if I am wrong I am hoping that you will correct me, but I do think that you’re equipped to be a prostitute.” The interview was immediately over and the female reporter had nothing more to say. It points to the fact that it is not what we have that makes it immoral or dangerous but rather our intent in how we use what we have.

Our problems in this country and with the adverse use of guns to kill people lie in our society alone. Life is not held as being sacred anymore. There is little to no respect for property, the rights, or the property rights of others. Abortions are being touted as being under the guise of women’s reproductive health rights. Birth control is touted as being the normal and accepted means to make it easily possible to engage in risky and immoral behavior and without consequence. God is being pushed out of everything in the guise that non-christians and atheists are made to hear things that they should not have to deal with. Our society is being eroded from all angles and people are not being trained from infancy to know that actions always have consequences. Where is common sense in our country? The sad truth is that common sense is not very common anymore, nor has it been for a very long time. We have become a nation of laws but we don’t need more laws to deal with guns. We desperately need order and we need enforcement of the laws we currently have. This may not be a popular stand with several but there needs to be a return to capital punishment. When the punishment begins to equal the crime, there will be less crime. The late and well respected Paul Harvey always said that “capital crime was deserving of capital punishment.” Paul always maintained too that “any boy old enough to commit a man’s crime deserved a man’s punishment.” We are in desperate need for a return to God and morality in our country. I can’t say it anymore plainly than that.