Letter to the editor: Militia members concerned about losing freedoms

The current administration seems to be overly concerned with militias around our country, deemed to be extremists. The majority of these small groups are peaceful people who are concerned about losing their freedoms. They exercise their rights under the Constitution to complain to each other and legally possess and use firearms.

I am retired from a local steel mill. I was fortunate to have a job where I was in contact with more than 2,000 people over 32 years. They all were different, but had one thing in common: supporting their families. I can readily imagine that if you took that away from them for the simple reason that you didn’t like the way they think, what they legally said or their political views, you would turn a peaceful taxpaying citizen into a “one person radical extremist.”

I once saw a person shoot a skunk at 312 yards with a Krag 1898 rifle, the same type of rifle Teddy Roosevelt carried up San Juan Hill. With this rifle he could put five bullets into a 1-inch circle at 100 yards. I witnessed my uncle shoot a rabbit on the run with a bow and arrow at 40 yards. I have watched women put arrows into a small circle at 100 yards.

The majority of the firearms in this country were legally passed down in families or legally acquired. Evil people are having their fun “canceling” normal peaceful citizens for obscure reasons. If you get between the bear and their cubs, you just might end up totally canceled!

Howard L. McHenry

East Vandergrift