Anti-gun info was off target

To the editor: Daniel Chase's response to my letter about the anti-gun positions of Hillary Clinton and Evan Bayh proves he, along with many anti-gunners, has no clue what he is talking about.
Chase asks me "Are you proposing that, like the National Rifle Association and gun manu-facturers,  that anyone should be able to possess any gun they manufacture, with no limit to the size of magazine for any arm?"
No, I am not, and neither is the NRA or the manufacturers. We all strongly support keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. We do strongly object to the anti-gun left's lies about both the issues and the legislation they try to promote.
Any gun they manufacture is already subject to volumes of regulations regarding what they can make and how it can be sold.
As for magazines, the size is already limited by what is practical for the type of gun and the situation. Calling for a 10-round limit will only hurt law-abiding gun owners. One 30-round magazine is no more dangerous than three 10-round magazines. Someone out to commit mass murder will take what they need to do the job.
For legal concealed carry where it is not practical to carry extra magazines, it makes more sense to have 15 to 20 cartridges in the handgun.
Trained police miss on eight out of 10 shots in a shooting situation. That would mean a 10 shot magazine was limiting self-defense to two hits on an assailant.
Chase says, "We have seen a rise in gun violence in America."
Actually it has dropped by 50 percent while the number of guns has doubled.
He says, "More guns and larger clips and semi-automatic and automatic guns would cause many more deaths than we've seen."
It has been illegal to manufacture more automatic guns since 1986, and since 1934 there have only been two murders with legal automatic firearms. There are also fewer than 300 murders a year with rifles of all kinds, and fewer yet with semi-auto rifles. More people are killed with bare hands. Perhaps we should ban those.
He says, "… our legally accepted militia is the National Guard."
U.S. Code reads that, "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and … under 45 years of age …"
Chase continues, "In the days of our founding fathers, the need for people to keep and bear arms was mainly for hunting …"
Chase has obviously never read the actual writings of the Founders on the subject.
"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." — Thomas Jefferson
“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence.” – George Washington
Chase says  "… many of the guns that Mr. Erwin wants legal would not be sensible for hunting."
Actually people have been hunting with semi-auto rifles and shotguns for more than 100 years. Most states that allow rifle hunting have a five-round magazine limit and often specify calibers that can be used. The AR that the left hates is an ideal hunting, competition and defense rifle. It is light weight, highly ergonomic, easily changed to different calibers and with a free-floating barrel very accurate. It is the most popular sporting rifle in the country today.
For more misinformation on the subject check out Clinton's website. My favorite is her claim that she will fight to make it a federal crime for a straw purchaser to sell a gun to a criminal. In fact it is already three federal felonies punishable by up to 10 years per felony per gun bought
Finally Chase asks, "Does it make one feel more virile shooting an automatic weapon?"
No. And it costs a lot of money to waste $10 worth of ammunition with one trigger pull of a machine gun. But it sure is fun.
Stephen Erwin
Portland