LETTERS: GUN CONTROL DOESN'T WORK EITHER

To the editor:

It didn't work with alcohol. It didn't work with drugs. It won't work with guns either. prohibition, the war on drugs, gun control -- what's next? Political opinion? Religion?

I've read the polls and the statistics for and against gun control. The truth is guns aren't the problem. However, they may be the solution. The problem with statistics in favor of gun control is that they don't take all the factors into account. Gun control advocates say domestic violence is a big problem, they forget to mention that most of the offenders are not law-abiding citizens and would not, in most cases, be given a license to begin with. What about suicide? Do you really need a gun for this? If someone wants to commit suicide, he will find a way regardless of whether or not he has a gun. Criminals will find ways to get guns, and I would rather be prepared.

Illegal search and seizure has become the norm in this country. According to the American Civil Liberities Union, the St. Louis police have conducted over 25,000 illegaql searches under the theory that any black driving a late-model car must have a handgun. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, since most police take a dim view of our constitutional rights or a suspect's right to legal counsel. What happened to "To serve and protect"?

Gun control cannot coexist with the Fourth Amendment (probable cause for search and seizure) and has a harmful effect on the Fifth Amendment (due process of law). It is also suspect under the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment, for it harms most groups that have traditionally been victimized by society's inequities. The Second Amendment means what it says: "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

It has been proven that with the right to carry concealed weapons that crime decreases. In Orlando, Fla., 2,500 women were given guns and taught how to use them. Crimes against women went down by 88 percent. Burglary went down by 25 percent, and none of the women actually ever use their guns.

CAROL POOLE

Jackson