Why gun control doesn't work

Why gun control doesn't work

The editorial ''Gun Law Cross-Fire,'' March 23, is misleading. It perpetuates the demonization of firearms and ignores several facts. First, crime rises where gun control is greatest and falls where the right to carry a concealed weapon is protected. Second, police do not prevent crime; they only enter the scene after the crime is committed and there is already a victim.

Third -- and most important -- only an armed populace can hold government tyranny at bay. Rather than deplore the ownership of assault weapons by citizens, why not deplore the unconstitutional use of military hardware by government agents against civilians? Massacres such as the ones in Waco, Texas, give ample evidence of government out of control. Citizens have a right to self-defense. Let's not give way to hysteria but remember that guns are neutral. Their use for good or evil lies in the hands of the possessor.

Jorie Blair Long, Chapel Hill, N.C.