While I share Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s outrage at the recent shootings at schools and places of worship (“Bill Peduto, Philly mayor: Why we oppose Pa. Senate gun bill,” May 9, TribLIVE), I cannot support their attempts to circumvent the rights of law-abiding citizens.

This attempt to use local legislation to make an end run around state and federal legislation is not the answer to the problems in our local communities. It is just an attempt to usurp the rights of the law-abiding while doing nothing to stem our basic problems.

There are laws on the books that help reduce the ability of the mentally ill and criminal element from obtaining guns legally, but these types generally don’t use legal methods to obtain weapons anyway. What part of “the right of the people to keep and bear arms will not be infringed” do they not understand?

Government intrusion and permissiveness is one of the major causes of the decay in our society. Only when justice, morality and respect for authority return will our society begin to heal. Until then we will all need our Second Amendment rights to protect and defend our lives, property and families.

J. Chrisner

Mt. Pleasant Township

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