To the Editor,

In response to” Potsdam man says arguments against gun control are weak” (March 6 - 12) and “Shame on St. Lawrence County for supporting Gun Lobbyists” (March 13 – 19):

The first Semi auto rifle was invented in 1883, this technology is well over 100 years old and it does not make a rifle or pistol any more deadly.

General McChrystal claims that these rounds can inflict massive damage to the human body? This is pure propaganda for people that don’t know, or understand firearms.

Yes, they can inflict massive damage, but any gun can. To try to make it sound like they are more powerful than anything else is just plain misleading.

The rounds are not very powerful compared to the typical rounds used to hunt deer.

A .223 round fired from a rifle will have 1282 ft/lbs of energy at 200 yards with a 55g bullet; a 30-06(probably the most popular cartridge in use) will have 2872 ft/lbs of energy with a 165g bullet at the same distance. No comparison, at all in power. Most hunters would tell you a .223 is too small to hunt deer with. The .223 round is used not for its power but for the low recoil, cheaper to manufacture, and relatively light to carry quantities of ammo.

The FBI statistics say there were just over 12,000 firearm homicides, out of those only 323 were committed with rifles. The other part you don’t see how many of those 12,000 were actually just innocent people? I could find an actual number but I would be willing to bet the majority of them were people involved in some type of criminal activity.

We need to give up freedom for the Public good? I cannot even begin to say what I think of this statement. Traffic laws limit our freedom? I don’t think they do, as I believe they are part of a traffic safety system so we can get from point A to point B safely. Oh, and by the way driving is not a Constitutional right. I have also heard the argument that “ you have to register a car and have a license, and you cant just own any car you want either,” well again, owning a car is not a constitutional right.

You can own any car you want without registering it or having a license you just can’t operate it on public roads. Maybe the reason you can’t remember many home invasions, car jackings or assaults is there is a very high rate of gun ownership in this area.

This is indeed a very slippery slope. Rep. Jan Schakowsky(D) said “This is just the beginning. If we have universal background checks that will effect every kind of weapon” going on to say “ Its a moment of opportunity we are going to push as hard as we can and as far as we can.” Gov. Cuomo himself spoke of door to door confiscation. So they take this style of gun now, next they will call our bolt-action rifles “Sniper Rifles” and take them. Universal registration is merely a precursor to confiscation. They will come and take your guns it already happens in California, all you need is someone to say you are depressed or a mental disorder. A veteran with PTSD? A Mom with postpartum depression? Anything will be a reason eventually.

St. Lawrence County Legislatures did not take a strong enough stand against the “SAFE ACT.”

Joe Wheeler, Potsdam