Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Captain Truscott’s letter (“Another view on gun control,” March 1 Readers Write) prompts me to note that effective enforcement of gun control laws depends on adequate funding. The Virginia State Police is currently not able to complete all background checks within the 45 days required by current law, frustrating both sides in the gun control debate. Could it be lack of funding?

But I write to question the captain’s view of those who disagree with him and his cautionary examples. Like millions of other people on the left, I want my government to treat people fairly, to protect all of us from aggression, whether physical or economic. I want people who live here to be equipped to work, to receive fair wages, to care for their families, to send their children to safe public schools, to get good health care. I want to understand and tread lightly in this fragile world I share with everyone else. Perhaps the “looniest” thing abou...