Dear Editor,
I am Infuriated by Dairy Queen owner Mina Khoury for his comments “…I can’t believe he (Mayor Brainard) would want a business like this and the type of crowd it would attract.” This transparency of ignorance displayed by Khoury is precisely what is allowing the right to bare arms debate to be taken out of reality and into fictional arguments framed by personal opinions rather than facts.
I will describe EXACTLY who would patron an indoor gun range. I would – a 32-year-old professional male with a wife and two children under 4 to protect. I am educated, well adjusted and seek the welfare of my neighbor or community. Who else would utilize such a place? How about all the fine men and women who protect our city called the Police Department, Or the 21.5 million veterans who have been trained by our government to use guns as a means of protecting our safety and freedom.
The truth is that gun ranges are for safety conscious good Americans who feel the honorable duty to protect victims and take a stand against injustice. Along the lines of Edmund Burke’s wisdom – If you want evil to flourish, restrict the rights of good men to do good.
It is not those who legally and responsibly bare arms that are the problem, nor is proximity the problem. (There is a reason James Holmes of Aurora, Co., chose the one theater within 20 minutes that did NOT allow guns inside. There is a reason unlawful CRAZY people chose gun-free-zones such as schools to unleash mayhem and destruction.) The unquantifiable problem is that our society does not support the duty of every able person to take a stand against evil, it out sources the responsibility, while vilifying anyone who prepares for such a moment.
I for one will utilize a gun range to practice and prepare for a moment I pray will never come, where I am the last line of defense between evil and those in need of protection, primarily my family. Don’t worry Mina Khoury, you will no longer have to deal with me as I will no longer be supporting your Dairy Queen, I clearly understand you don’t like my “type of crowd.”
Zack Parker
46032