Letter to the editor: We need enforcement, not more gun laws

In response to the letter “God didn’t give us guns” (April 23, TribLIVE): We do not need more “commonsense” gun laws; we need commonsense enforcement of existing gun laws.

If you do not punish bad behavior, you get worse behavior. Anyone who has raised children should have learned that.

The mayor of Pittsburgh recently complained that people in the Pittsburgh area are obtaining guns illegally (stolen, discarded, etc.) and are using them to commit crimes of violence, yet he is blaming it on the abundance of guns. Let’s look at the “logic” (or lack thereof behind this).

It is a felony to steal a firearm.

It is a felony to carry a firearm (concealed) without a license.

It is a felony to possess a firearm if you are a convicted felon.

It is a felony to use a firearm to shoot someone without just cause.

If I steal a firearm, I commit a felony. If I carry that firearm concealed without a permit, that is two felonies.

If I am a felon doing both of the above, that makes three felonies. If I use that firearm to shoot someone without justifiable cause, that is four felonies.

And the revolving door of the “justice” system keeps releasing bad actors back into society. It is no wonder things are the way they are.

You do not have the right to unjustifiably take a life; you do have a right to protect your own.

George Silowash

Penn Township, Westmoreland County