Letter: Just how many assault rifles are in circulation?

A short while ago I read an article in the Daily Herald about a gun shop owner in Naperville indicating that his business would go under and his family would be left destitute if Naperville continued with its plan to make it illegal to sell assault-style weapons in the city.

I have no idea what assault-style weapons cost, but his statement brings to mind two thoughts: Wow, those things must be really, really expensive; and how many of these things is he actually selling every month that it is a matter of survival for his business and family?

It makes my blood run cold imagining how many of these rifles must be out there if this one shop is selling enough to support his business. Multiply that by all of the other gun shops out there, because one could presume that people would generally go to their local gun shop versus travel to Naperville to fulfill their assault rifle needs.

By making these statements I am not meaning to ridicule this small-business man or accuse him of hyperbole. I'm taking his statement at face value because surely he knows his business better than I.

My point is to consider the number of these weapons that are out there and if even 1% of these gun owners and their families and anyone with access to their homes and is aware of the guns has a mental illness or has a bad day, how much danger are we all in from these weapons?

Mary Hunter

Carpentersville