I can't praise enough Eliza Murphy's informative and revealing "Mentally ill and heavily armed in the U.S." (Opinion, Aug. 16) on the complexities surrounding gun ownership in our country.

Buying a gun in this country is about as difficult as deciding to have sex; all it takes is a little desire and even less initiative. Only with sex you must first obtain mutual consent, while with purchasing firearms all you essentially need is the willingness to spend money.

God forbid, anyone should broach the subject of responsibility or consequences!

Murphy touches on the most fundamental need for gun restrictions: You don't need to be mentally stable to purchase any type of weapon, including assault weapons; you need only to afford it.

The National Rifle Association will fight anyone at even the mention of regulating guns for such individuals, because the next thing you know, guns will be taken from your home and the government will be telling you who to have sex with!

Robert Hoff

West Jordan