Dear Editor:

It's hard to talk rationally with some gun people about gun safety. They immediately go into a cocoon of irrationality, paranoia and misinformation.

I was never much involved in gun issues until Newtown. Like the rest of the nation, I looked for some answers: How did this massacre of 20 kids happen and what needed to be done to ensure it would never again happen? The NRA head had an answer: more guns in the classrooms. Arm the teachers.

I turned to social media to see what gun owners were saying. I did not find one suggestion to help solve the problem they had created. They seemed only concerned with making sure the death of the Newtown kids would not lead to any sort of gun sanity. They felt sorry for the kids, but that could not take precedence over their gun rights. I didn't make up that last sentence. That's a quote from a gun guy to me.

I am an advocate for gun safety, but I see no major problem with guns for hunting or for home safety — although there is a lot of information showing it's usually the gun owner, not a bad guy, who gets hurt when loaded guns are around a home.

I can't understand, however, why responsible gun owners should object to background checks. Don't they want guns kept away from criminals, the mentally ill, abusers. But, of course, background checks would cut down the sales and profits from guns.

The NRA and right wing politicians push the idea of guns and freedom going hand in hand.

What a con! While gun guys are protecting their alleged rights, corporate America is increasing inequality and poverty in America. Median income in America went down almost $3,000 in the first decade of the century. Politicians are taking money from the American worker and giving it to the very rich.

Want to protect your freedom, gun guys? Then do what I do. Your freedom is protected by the Constitution, the Bill of a Rights and due process, not by your guns.

Fred Rotondaro

Southport