Letter to the Editor: Permit-to-purchase bill may be misdirecting responsibility

Two Democrat legislators, Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman of Wilmington and House Majority Whip Melissa Minor-Brown of New Castle, are sponsoring a permit-to-purchase handgun bill, according to a recent article (“Delaware Democratic leadership reintroduces permit-to-purchase bill,” April 20).

This would put an additional burden on law-abiding Delaware citizens who wish to purchase a handgun to protect themselves and their families.

There is already a concern regarding Black youths arrested while carrying illegal weapons. Why do these two legislators want to make it harder for all law-abiding Delaware citizens, when so much of the crime is being committed by those not abiding by law? Many committing crimes come from broken homes lacking a strong family structure, and so they seem to look to gang leaders for leadership rather than to their own families.

This bill by the two legislators is further burdening law-abiding Delaware citizens by forcing them to comply with the proposed regulations/restrictions. And how will these be interpreted and applied in individual cases? And why do these legislators want to make it extra hard for those who are not the ones responsible for the crime that is being committed?

There needs to instead be a focus on the causes of this rise in crime and how best to eliminate those causes for the good of everyone.

Frederick C. Smiga

Frederica