Guido Portante

Special to The Desert Sun

Education through books is an essential requirement for learning. Books come in a variety of subjects and with a diversity of information. Without libraries and books, education would be curtailed for adults and our young people. Young people are our most precious asset. Americans enjoy the freedom to use libraries and books for learning, the freedom we should all cherish as Americans.

However, for Bruce Fessier to suggest that libraries are more important than gun sales (March 31) is not our American way.

Our Founding Fathers knew too well that citizens who could not protect themselves from scrupulous governments, criminals and ill-abiding citizens was not safe nor was this in the best interest of its citizens. Look at Venezuela, Russia, Iran, North Korea and China as examples of citizens without guns. How are those citizens doing? Why must our health and security be pitted against each other?

Why during this pandemic crisis should Mr. Fessier and some of our left-leaning politicians use the pandemic to further erode, or try to erode, gun rights given to all American citizens? The Second Amendment to our U.S. Constitution assures our rights as citizens to own and use guns to protect our lives, property and, more importantly, our families. Is there anything more important than protecting ourselves and our families now in these troubling times — or, for that matter, anytime?

Troubling to me is that our far-reaching left government politicians will use any situation to establish more gun controls and laws to try and take our guns away from the citizens of the United States. Those lawmakers opposed to guns are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to stop American citizens from protecting their loved ones.

It is not just simply about guns; it's about the left using the COVID-19 pandemic as a platform to launch even more attacks upon the infrastructure on which our country was founded. This is unsafe for the future of our young people. These anti-gun lawmakers will not win. It takes two-thirds of our states to make an amendment change to our U.S. Constitution. So, instead of pulling together to fight COVID-19 and bringing our country back to pre-COVID-19 days, we will spend a lot of taxpayer dollars fighting this battle in court now and into the foreseeable future.

The comments made by Mr. Fessier regarding Guns of Distinction, a private business, and Mr. Storm Jenkins, its owner, in his article is exactly what the left does to those of us who will not conform to their way of thinking. The Constitution of California, Article I, Section 1, states that “All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness and privacy.” We cannot always depend on our great law enforcement people, who serve us well, to be there in times of need to protect ourselves and families.

Just one more thought to ponder: All of this is happening while prisoners are being let out of jail and with law enforcement only arresting for the most serious crimes. You want to know why gun sales are up?

Email Guido Portante, Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Retired), of Rancho Mirage at GPortante@aol.com