Letter to the editor: Cracking open the door on gun control

After two recent tragic mass shootings, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It is common sense to keep lethal weapons away from criminals and those with mental illness, but this act did little but to open the door to future stricter gun controls. History tells us that once the door is cracked, politicians likely will totally knock it down.

When the U.S. income tax was implemented in 1913, the top marginal rate on earned income was 7%. This grew to 25% in 1925 and is now 37%, although “rich” people are demonized for not paying their fair share.

Oregon approved medical marijuana in 1998. Recreational use was approved in 2014, and in 2020 small amounts of all street drugs were decriminalized. In 2021, Oregon’s overdose deaths grew 41% over 2020 amid significant increases in violent and property crimes.

President Obama issued an executive order to grant rights to Dreamers in 2012, and now amnesty and citizenship are being discussed for millions of illegals who flooded our southern border.

Drug use and crimes are rising rapidly, and our borders are being flooded with illegal immigrants. Is this the time to start implementing gun control laws that criminals will not obey? No, the solution is not to limit our Second Amendment rights but rather to get criminals off the street, set appropriate bail and get help for the mentally ill. This act will have minimal effect except to crack open the door.

Anthony T. McGartland

Murrysville