Editor:
Lisa Price, former head of North Carolinians for Gun Control, seems to have tired of merely demanding that trigger locks be provided with firearms -- which, if I remember correctly, was The Screaming Crisis only last April. Now she's thumping the drum ("Careless with guns," Oct. 11) for laws to punish those who leave rifles, pistols, or shotguns in a manner which makes them "accessible to juveniles and thieves" (emphasis mine).
For a gunowner worried about a small child, placing a weapon on a high shelf in a closet will probably suffice. But what measures can be counted on to always deter a thief?
My apartment has deadbolts. Now, if someone is willing to put a boot through my front door in order to gain access to my belongings, what the heck else should I be expected to do?
Years ago, for my own peace of mind, I went out and purchased a large and heavy safe. But three full-grown men armed with crowbars, a dolly, and some spare time could get it onto a pickup truck for later dissection at their leisure. So could I then be held liable under this proposed law?
Isn't Price's argument comparable to saying that any woman who does not wear padlocked chain-mail undergarments deserves to get raped?
Sincerely,
LF