Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,
In an earlier letter to the editor, I quoted Prince Talleyrand of 17th century France to Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte who said, “You can do many things with bayonets, but it is rather uncomfortable tosit on them.”  
I wrote, “The quote seems to me to be analogous to the American gun culture of the 21st century i.e. you can do many things with guns except sit on them. And sit on them, Americans don’t.”
I want to follow up the (7/20/22) article with an amplification of this summer’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the 2nd Amendment.  The new ruling by the Court expands on an earlier decision of a person’s right to possess fire arms at home for self-protection to allowing persons to carry firearms in public. While this new ruling is expected to affect laws in only seven states (excluding Iowa) and Washington D.C., researchers estimate nine million U.S. adults carry loaded handguns monthly and that three million carry loaded handguns every day.
Now while I’m concerned that gun regulations often favor the privileged, creating racial disparities, (i.e. roughly 41 percent of white households own guns compared to just 19 percent of black households). When it comes to guns, white and black Americans are sitting on different stacks of bayonets (i.e. guns).  
Nevertheless, Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the majority opinion for the nine justices on the Supreme Court Bench said, “Concern for public safety isn’t enough to justify new gun controls.”
“Your Honor, Really?” Tell that to a man shot and killed by his brother over a disputed cheeseburger. Or tell that to a stepson who was shot and killed by his stepfather for jumping on the bed. Or tell that to the man who was shot by his neighbor for feeding squirrels.  Or tell that to the toddler who was shot three times by a man after his mother didn’t flirt back with him.  Or tell that to a woman who was shot by a 10 year-old girl after being handed her mother’s purse with a loaded hand gun, while her mother was having an altercation with the woman.
I think most people would agree that these shootings and/or killings for petty and dumb reasons are completely insane.
Contrary to Justice Thomas, it should make common sense that guns carried in public, pose a danger to public safety. Loaded guns can quickly escalate everyday conflicts into deadly altercations, causing tragic, irreversible damage to innocent lives. These dangers are amplified when states weaken their standards.
Such is the case with asking citizens of Iowa to vote favorably for a dangerous Constitutional Amendment on the Iowa ballot in November. Supporters claim HJR4/SJR1 simply protects 2nd Amendment rights in Iowa. Iowa courts have previously rejected the language of this amendment as a dangerous standard, when it comes to common sense law that keeps guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.
I invite sensible Iowans to join me and vote NO on this amendment at the voting booth this November.
Rev. Jerry Robertson
Lake Mills