English model doesn't work well for gun control

To the editor:

I found the May 28 article about the increase in gun crime in England to be informative, but it left out the fact that England has already implemented the "sensible" gun control that Handgun Control Inc. is advocating in this country: banning private possession of handguns. There is also strict control in England of all long guns.

According to those who favor banning guns, this should make England one of the safest countries in the world, yet you are six times more likely to be mugged in London than New York. And between April and November the number of people robbed at gunpoint in London rose 53 percent.

In America where most of us still enjoy the protections of the Second Amendment, 13 percent of home burglaries occur while occupants are at home. I will bet the majority of them occur in disarmament zones like New York and California, not in areas where criminals fear armed citizens far more than the police. In England, where the criminals are virtually guaranteed their intended victims are defenseless, the rate is 53 percent.

The gun banners are constantly urging the United States to adopt European-style gun laws to control crime. Perhaps we should take a good long look at the reality and ignore the hyperbole before making that move.

ROBERT A CRON

Advance, Mo.