Editor, Times-Union: In the wake of all these recent shootings, Congress is going to be gung-ho to pass stricter gun laws. Why? I am a convicted felon and am currently incarcerated for crimes alleged to have been committed and alleged to have involved firearms. Now how did I come to possess firearms as a felon? I simply went to other convicted felons and bought guns through or from them. I was out on parole and owned a .38 special, .22 revolver, .9 mm, and .380 semi autos. I also had a .28 gauge shotgun, a Remington 870, a Sovietmade 7.62 by 54R Mosin-Nagant! That last one is a Sniper Rifle. When I bought my guns no background check was required, and there was no waiting period, it was cash and carry. I would be willing to bet that when the investigation into the Dallas Police shootings is concluded, if it gets solved at all, they will find that the perpetrators, the shooters, had illegal firearms. Stiffer gun control laws did not keep these persons from possessing guns, what they do is keep law-abiding citizens from possessing and carrying firearms for personal protection. If you want to discourage the convicted felons, the pariahs of society from possessing and using these firearms, then what you really need to petition Congress for is stiffer penalties for the illegal possession of them, because the slap on the wrist that is in the sentencing guidelines is not a deterrent to me nor to others in my situation. So we will continue to purchase, carry and use these illegal firearms for illegal acts while the law-abiding citizens ability to legally possess a means of self defense against, well ... me and others like me. Guns don’t kill, people do. And I’m not required to show I.D. when I purchase ammunition.
