Don’t blame the gun

It would seem that the anti-gun people have once again found an issue to use to trot out their propaganda machine (Other Voices, BDN, Aug. 5). On this occasion they seek to terrorize us all with the lame assertion that sales of surplus military firearms dating to World War II will plunge us all into a gun violence-induced frenzy. Let me burst a few bubbles.

First, the idea that an M1 Garand, M1 carbine or an M1911 pistol can be easily converted from semi to full automatic is ridiculous. The author would have the reader believe $100 parts kits are readily available and easily installed. It’s illegal to make or sell the parts, it’s illegal to install them, and it takes proper training and machinery to do it. Authors of this type rely on the vast majority of readers to be unsophisticated on this subject and easily beguiled into accepting their misinformation for fact.

As for the Pentagon witholding sales of these firearms in an effort to protect the public safety, this is another bit of misinformation. In point of fact, M1 Garands are available through a government-sanctioned program.

The author feels the import of surplus firearms are an effort to stir up a moribund firearms market. Well, yes, firearms sales are flat. They have been for the past 25 years or so. These surplus firearms have been available for the past 40 years or more. I sincerely doubt the firearms importers suddenly woke up to find a ready market. As a matter of fact, these same importers have been bringing in surplus arms from other countries for decades.

The warning that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is concerned about these weapons being turned on our police is a drum they beat on every issue related to firearms. I tire of this old saw. It hasn’t held water in the past and it won’t now.

So here we have it. Misinformation, distortions and outright lies courtesy of the anti-gun lobby. When are these people going to wake up and realize it’s not the guns, it’s the criminals that are the problem. Leslie M. Ohmart III Brewer