“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” I am tired of that old saw.

People don’t kill people by spitting on them. There are other means, but they are less effective and immediate. It is not only the homicides that could be lowered, but the suicides and “accidentals” that could be lowered if a gun was not handy at the time to an angry, unstable individual.

It is time for informed gun owners and extensive background checks. Instead the Maine Legislature has gone backward by passing legislation allowing concealed weapons without a permit.

Preventing needless loss of life will take money and personnel. Does the public have the commitment? Maine is currently not even minimally equipped to handle background checks.

We talk about the rights of the paranoid. What about the rights of the ordinary citizen to live? I have guns and I will volunteer to be screened.

Another old saw — “The Second Amendment of the Constitution guarantees the right to have firearms.” Look again. It says, word for word:

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

I suggest the National Rifle Association establish a militia (National Guard) and be ready to fight for this country. What don’t they understand about “a well-regulated militia?”

The rest of us, having passed our test, will be content to hunt for a little meat.

Marilyn Burgess, Leeds