To The Eagle:

A letter last week decried my comparing Fentanyl deaths to firearm deaths as a “false equivalency… like comparing apples to oranges,” but then continues on to compare automobile deaths to firearm deaths. That is somehow different? No mention was made that over half, 54 percent of those firearm deaths, were suicide. Of note; firearms do not increase suicide rate, Japan for instance has nearly twice the suicide rate of the US and no firearms other than police and military.

The writer then compares the “Right to Drive” to the 2nd amendment. There is no constitutional right to drive. It is a privilege granted to you by the state, that is precisely why it is regulated, licensed, taxed, and controlled. This privilege can be taken from you at any time.

The entire Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment, are inalienable rights of every U.S. citizen, not mere permissions or privileges to be meted out, restricted, licensed, taxed, monitored or regulated by bureaucrats.

According to the DOJ’s own data, only 7.9 percent of violent crimes in 2020 were committed with guns. Yes, you read that correctly, 92 percent of all violent crimes in the U.S. in 2020 did not involve firearms of any type.

Furthermore, guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year. That is 6,849 every day. Most often, the gun is never fired.

As an example, the police in Orlando, Florida, responded to a rape epidemic by embarking on a highly publicized program to train 2,500 women in firearm use. The next year rape fell by 88 percent in Orlando (the only major city to experience a decrease that year); burglary fell by 25 percent. Not one of the 2,500 women actually ended up firing her weapon; the deterrent effect of the publicity sufficed. Five years later Orlando's rape rate was still 13 percent below the pre-program level, whereas the surrounding standard metropolitan area had suffered a 308 percent increase.

Guns may not save lives, but people carrying them do.

M Moneyhan

Puget Island