This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In response to James Green ("U.S. gun owners make us safer," June 26), please, sir, do not insult the intelligence of the majority of the American people by including all guns in your gun category.

Do not hide behind the Second Amendment rights you so espouse. This is not about that issue. If you want to own a rifle to hunt big game … fine. If you want to own a shotgun to hunt birds … fine. Even if you want to own a pistol(s) to protect your home … fine. Do not hide the fact that no one, and I sincerely mean no one, needs to or deserves to own a weapon capable of the carnage we saw in Orlando and other locations. It is time this stops.

And one of the many solutions is to cease the sale of this type of weapon to the general public. It is not about protecting your rights to own firearms. It is about protecting the American public from mass murder. Simple as that. So stop your NRA grandstanding rhetoric and, like the majority of Americans, support a law outlawing the purchase of semi-automatic weapons and their large magazines.

Kent C. Overly

Draper