LETTERS: BLAME BAD LAWS, NOT CONSTITUTION

To the editor:

If just read the letter from S.L. Hodge. I wonder if Mr. Hodge has read the U.S. Constitution. Our Constitution never prohibited women from voting. Our Constitution never declared women to be second-class citizens.

Even though our Constitution never prohibited women from voting, there were years when women were not allowed to vote in this country. This liberty was denied by laws that were passed, not by the Constitution. It is each citizen's right and responsibility to stand and protect our Constitution and to demand the liberties it guarantees. When people demanded the liberty to vote as a citizen, amendments were added to the Constitution stating that no individual state nor the United States had the right to deny this liberty.

It doesn't matter how many laws are passed against owning firearms or even what kind of firearms. It won't matter that there is a law that says you have to wait for a background check to get a firearm. Criminals will find a way to acquire weapons, and police officers will be in danger when they confront criminals. We already have laws prohibiting ownership of some weapons. We already have laws that require registration when you purchase a firearm. We have laws against crime, and we have laws against illegal drugs. Regulating everyone in the name of safety won't work. As Benjamin Franklin said, "He who gives up liberty for a little security deserves neither."

MARY NALL

Marble Hill