Like Prohibition, gun laws won't work

I'm angry. I look forward to watching Jeopardy five days a week and for two consecutive days, it was pre-empted for breaking news, the second day being the high school massacre in Florida.

Seventeen people were murdered by an evil person who the FBI should have blocked his purchase of a rifle. When will we learn? Because of what the murderer did, gun grabbers want more restrictive gun ownership laws, ostensibly to prevent bad people from having firearms. That works as well as Prohibition did to prevent people from consuming alcoholic beverages.

Why doesn't the government just pass sensible laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals instead of people like me? I sleep soundly with a handgun next to me and it works better than Ambien.

I would never use a gun in the commission of a crime nor would I ever commit a crime.

The answer to stopping the epidemic of bad people killing others with guns in spite of extremely restrictive gun ownership laws (such as in Chicago) lies in laws aimed at bad people. Bad people get guns illegally, not from legitimate sellers who do background checks, so laws must be aimed at them, such as a mandatory 10-year sentence in prison for illegally possessing a firearm. and life in prison for possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime.

Here's hoping our legislators go after bad people who use their illegally gotten guns instead of law-abiding people who want to be armed for protection.

It would save many lives and I would be able to see more episodes of Jeopardy.

Gene Maril

Arlington Heights