Gun rights come with responsibilities
I am an octogenarian and a proud weapon-carrying permit holder. Prior to moving to Georgia, I held a South Carolina concealed carry permit. To qualify, I had to spend 8 hours in classroom instruction, pass a written test and demonstrate proficiency in using a firearm.
A gun, particularly a handgun, is not a toy. It is a deadly weapon, not to be put in the hands of unskilled or unworthy individuals on a whim.
Non-permitted handgun carriers should be fined $500 if caught with a handgun for the first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent violation. Using a firearm while committing a felony should be punishable by 10 years in federal prison without parole. The only way to stop gun violence is by prosecuting the criminals who choose to use guns. Conversely, do not make gun ownership permits convoluted or expensive.
These are the reasons I am against constitutional carry rights. With those rights come responsibilities, both on the citizen and the government.
JOHN MCNAMEE, ALPHARETTA
Democrats move away from COVID as midterms near
The COVID masks have been hiding more than our faces. They are hiding the motives of the Democrats. If the threat of COVID can continue until the upcoming midterm elections, there would be a reason for relaxing absentee voting practices. This could help the Democrats again as it did in the 2020 presidential election.
Historically, Democrats like absentee voting; Republicans vote in person. Biden and the Democrats are underwater in the polls on COVID. American families are rising in protest against masking their school children.
Others see masks as a muzzle to their civil liberties. The Biden Democrat dilemma does away with mask mandates to appease those against them in hopes of upping their poll numbers when it could end their hopes of using COVID to win in the midterm elections. I see discarded masks in streets, parking lots, and playgrounds. It might be too late for the Biden Democrats to save face.
BECKY SMITH, ROSWELL
