To the editor:

I wish to add my voice to what I hope will be a chorus of protest over the recently passed conceal-and-carry bill by our stalwarts in the Legislature who didn’t have the courage to put this to a public vote in November. One such protest, from John Rosen, was in the March 25 Public Forum.

Among many questions that bother me: Are these newly created vigilantes bound to just protect themselves or would they come to my defense, or Mr. Rosen’s, if we are attacked? Can newly licensed carriers take their weapons to another state with similar laws even if they aren’t aware of the other state’s particular restrictions?

I once heard a woman testify that she would not have been attacked if she had a concealed weapon. If she had the weapon in her purse and it was quickly snatched, wouldn’t this put yet another weapon in the hands of a criminal, as well as her money? This all seems to be another wave of madness in this nation of ours. I’d much rather see a modest tax increase to pay for carefully trained and screened professional law enforcement officers. Otherwise, I see the hail of bullets that Mr. Rosen does.

I have two proposals if this craziness continues. Give the taxpayer a real break and disband every municipal police force, every sheriff’s department and the Highway Patrol and give law enforcement to National Rifle Assn. volunteers. After that, erect, in every park, memorial statuary dedicated to Ike Clanton, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.

Jack Ozegovic,

Lawrence