Letter writers who analogize guns to cars always leave gaps in their simplistic reasoning.
It sounds so simple.
Cars kill, just as guns do, but we don’t outlaw cars, do we?
The first gap in their comparison is that driving is only a privilege in law, not a constitutional right.
The second gap derives from the first: Unlike guns, driving is heavily regulated.
Drivers are licensed.
We have speed limits, traffic lights, striped lanes and more.
Traffic officers issue tickets for violations and courts assess penalties.
And, pertinent to the national gun debate, you can’t drive legally unless you are insured and at least 16 (or 15, in some cases).
In other words, the example of cars speaks for regulation.
The only reason guns and gun sales are not more regulated is the interpretation of the Second Amendment that defines gun ownership as an absolute right.
Anyone can own a motor vehicle, but can drive it only if old enough and licensed after passing a test.
The only meaningful laws we have for guns regard their misuse in unjustified shootings.
I believe we should treat guns the same way we treat cars and trucks.
John Merton Marrs,
Port Angeles