GUNS: Don't need more laws

Jim Jones responded to Doug Weir’s letter believing Mr. Weir missed the point of his letter. Several days ago when Mr. Jones wrote his opinion article about guns, he represented himself as an expert of weaponry based on his experience as an artillery officer in Vietnam, describing “fleshette rounds” and how the fleshettes tumble, causing serious injury.

First, as a heavy artillery officer, the 175 mm weapon and the 8-inch howitzer each use rounds that weigh more than 200 pounds — they did not have “fleshette” rounds. Secondly, each fleshette had fins at the end to stabilize flight, like a dart. It was a defensive round used by 105 howitzers when NVA or Viet Cong were overrunning an artillery battery. This defensive round was very similar to buckshot in a shot gun.

I was an artillery instructor at the artillery center before my tour in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot. I am familiar with artillery weapons and the rounds each piece fires.

In a more recent letter, Mr. Jones describes himself in a liaison role rather than in an artillery role.

Reading Mr. Weir’s letter, I believe he understood the attack on the Second Amendment perfectly. It seems to gun control advocates, the law-abiding citizen must bear the brunt of laws to control the outlaw. We do not need more laws, we need law-abiding citizens.

PAUL MAHLOW

Hayden