Editor:

After our country won its freedom, the leaders knew that we needed a government. Individual citizens and states could not deal with issues like commerce, war, slavery, etc. Several years and a lot of debate, argument, drafts, votes, etc., later, even though some still disagreed with parts of the final document, our Constitution was approved.

The new government that was formed, where citizens could elect their delegates and representatives, and where amendments, regulations, and laws could be approved to take care of future issues, was a plan that could work.

For the first 100 years or more, hunters could kill anything they wanted and as much as they wanted. Many animals were hunted to near or total extinction. If laws and national forests had not been created, a lot with the support of the hunters themselves, there would be few animals to hunt or places to hunt them. Without national and state forests, parks, etc., and the laws that regulate them, there would be few places to fish, camp, sightsee, etc. Those areas would be privately owned, condo city, or trashed and burned to the ground. If Mesa Verde had not been saved when it was, it would have been plundered to death and would not even exist.

Gun violence and the gun mania of having the “right” to have and do anything you want with guns is out of control. Pro-gun people have the right to develop and propose gun laws. If assault weapons are approved, and national registration and background checks are not required, then so be it. But then anti-gun control people like should not be concerned when citizens come to visit an office carrying their AK’s (for protection of course). And deputies should not worry when people walk into the jail, courthouse, government offices, bank, plane, etc., with their open carry or concealed machine pistols. And that neighbor with his 50 caliber mounted by his front door is OK; I understand he is well trained. Kind of like operators of that other deadly weapon (cars).

Tom Townley

Mancos