Dear Editor,
This is in response to George De Luna’s letter of July 12. In it, he repeatedly refers to “God-given” rights. Passing over his total lack of evidence for the existence of any supernatural being, let’s look to see how many times this term occurs in the Constitution. Hmmm, well no “God-given,” but maybe it’s just “God.” Well, none of that either.
De Luna writes “…your God-given right to [defend yourself]. The founders made it quite clear we can do that legally with a firearm. The wording is clear, unequivocal, and deliberate.”
Here is the Second Amendment: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
What could be clearer than that? It is missing the parts about self-defense and God…
But for Mr. De Luna, the truth of a statement is shown by the confidence with which he says it, and with the number of adjectives he uses. I do agree that we have the right to defend ourselves.
De Luna concludes that not only do you have a right to own guns, you have the duty to own them. I guess the founders say that in the constitution. Let’s see, hmmm. Maybe the Declaration of Independence. Oh well. In any case, I’m not an anti-gun fanatic. I shot guns on the family farm, and an M16 (fully automatic) in basic training in early 1969. And, I do own a gun — a Shennefelt rifle made by my ancestor Nicholas in the mid-1800s in Western Pennsylvania. Hope that suffices.
In his April 19 letter, De Luna lectured us on how women should obey his absurd religious convictions and that somehow, despite all the evidence, Pres. Bonespurs won the 2020 election, and his vile rule should be imposed on all of us. Now he wants to make us buy guns. I’ve survived 76 years without one and without fear, despite living in several states, the country, New York City, and even New Jersey. But I guess De Luna needs the big man in the White House, the big man in the sky, and a gun in his pocket. Not all of us do.
It’s interesting that De Luna deposits this in a Vermont paper rather than one in his own state. Is he afraid of the effect his nonsense might have on his business in the very liberal state of New Jersey? Kem Phillips,
Cavendish
