Dear Editor,

I Think We May Have Arrived at the Archie Bunker Mentality of Gun Control

Many of us may remember when All In the Family debuted in the 70’s. At the start of Season 2, the episode entitled “The Man in the Street” aired with Archie Bunker being interviewed about his opinion on gun control. He had many opinions, but to solve the hijacking problem which was dominating the news at the time, Archie suggested that all passengers should be issued guns as they boarded the plane, and then guns would be collected as they exited. We all laughed at the absurdity of such a notion.

Now to 2023. States are enacting gun carry legislation which requires no training, regulation, or background checks to carry a concealed weapon. So we are metaphorically issuing guns to all passengers boarding the plane, but they get to keep it when they exit. I guess this is supposed to make us feel safer.

You can look up on-line exactly how much each of our congressmen and representatives receive from the NRA. It is not difficult to see that votes against reasonable gun control are being bought and sold which would ensure that the carnage will continue against our children and citizens as long as we vote these congressmen into office. Please note the party affiliation of each member who received these millions of dollars.

To get a driver’s license one must be a certain age, go through training, get a learners permit, and pass a test to earn the privilege to drive a car. Why can’t the same principle apply to owning a gun? No one is denying the right own a gun, but there must be some responsibility to that ownership.

Are we really willing to accept that mass shootings have become an inevitable fact of life in our society? There has been close to 350 mass shootings since January, 17 more just this past weekend as Americans went out to celebrate our country’s freedom.

Every week we hear reports of more deaths, more injuries, more families torn apart because of another mass shooting by someone who should not be carrying a gun, all so our legislators can receive their massive campaign donations.

We must wake up! This has become the absurdity.When we vote these people into office, we must take into consideration how they vote on this important issue. We shouldn’t have to fear going to school, to church, shopping, or a party and worry that some nut with a gun may shoot our babies, our sisters and brothers, or other loved ones.

Ann Taylor
Oakwood, TX