Gun forum meant to steer young people

I must differ with Michelle Jordan of the misnamed Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. I say misnamed because their intentions are quite obvious. They do not advocate preventing violence by breaking up street gangs or pushing the "three strikes law" to put offenders away. They promote the disarming of Americans in the fuzzy belief that crime will vanish when honest men have no means to defend themselves. The British government has led the way in this fantasy by taking guns away from their citizens, then telling them to respond to a nighttime home invasion by pulling the covers over their heads and avoiding a confrontation with the burglar. Yes, really: The ostrich response. I was shocked that the League of Women Voters, once a strong community asset, would host a meeting so one-sided without notifying the public. It was clearly intended to propagandize young people with false statistics and a phony poll (600 questionnaires) to show that Illinois supports stronger gun controls. In my experience, a forum is held to enlighten by examining all sides of an issue. When Michelle Jordan demanded silence from the audience and tried to shout an elderly lady down, she had a police officer remove the woman from the room when she yelled "Liberty!" Wow. It struck me that we had taken a step backward in time and place to a beer hall in Munich. No questions allowed, no dissent permitted. How sad that the League allowed this to happen. Illinois stands alone as the only state in the union that has not passed a concealed carry permit law to allow its citizens to defend their lives and property. The answer is gang control, not gun control, but of course, taking guns away from the community is safer that giving long prison terms to gang leaders. They know where you live.

Donald A. Sender

Wheaton