To the editor:

We accept that the Second Amendment affirms opposition to foreign, invading forces. But personal guns are hardly required today for national defense or food.

“Self-defense” is trumpeted by the National Rifle Association and the gun manufacturers. The Kansas NRA promotes gun safety education programs. Good! Accidental discharges with fatal consequences occur too often.

I have frequently attended events at the Dole Institute — and recommend it to many. However, two assertions made at a recent event about “self-defense” should be challenged. One speaker said she wanted to confront “with a 50” any group of five or six big men charging into her house. Is a gang of five likely to “invade”? How likely is that? Who is likely to lose in the “battle”? My guess: any intruder(s) is prepared to shoot first and outshoot any opponent.

Opponents of gun registration and background checks contend it is an intrusion on our freedoms. Often cited: Hitler ordered registration and took away guns. First, Hitler did not remove all guns. (WWII vets told me of finding many guns in German homes.) Second, Hitler’s rise was facilitated by conditions after WWI. He gave Germans a ‘new’ spirit — dignity among nations, building Autobahns, reducing unemployment, and an impossible ‘dream.’

Registration of guns and owners is no greater threat to personal freedom than being required to register our automobiles and be certified to drive one. Driving or gun ownership is a privilege, not a right.

Some say: outlawing guns means only outlaws will have guns. No!! We still will have our police, sheriffs, military, highway patrols, and National Guard.