Gun rights foster liberty

During the rioting and looting in 1992, merchants in Koreatown in Los Angeles protected their property and livelihoods with handguns and assault rifles. Like the riots in the United Kingdom, the ’92 riots in Los Angeles were triggered by alleged police brutality, but quickly became an opportunity to steal and destroy.

British merchants can’t respond like their American cousins because gun control laws in England are so restrictive that lawful private gun ownership is virtually impossible. Predictably, gang members and criminals can get them on the black market.

The Aug. 12 Spokesman-Review featured a photograph of a British citizen praying for unity. We Americans have the right to do that, too, but thanks to the founders and the Second Amendment, we can do so while holding the peacekeeper of our choice.

Call me bitter, but I’ll cling to both the personal liberties and also the means to preserve them.

Mike Wolfe

Spokane