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Letter: Want to have a military-style weapon? Be ready to serve in the armed forces.

FILE - This Oct. 3, 2013, file photo shows a custom made semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine, displayed at TDS Guns in Rocklin, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

I’m not sure where one would go to find out a statistic about gun ownership in our nation. Would it be the NRA, the military, retail outlets or are there state/federal databases that track gun owners?

I’m particularly wondering if citizens who own or loan military-style weapons have or plan to actually serve time in the military. Perhaps gun regulation can include all of the above buying-in on the following control measure:

The paperwork that gun users sign when they want to purchase any AR-15 style weapons for mass killing, would have a dotted line requiring they are also signing a willingness and ability to immediately serve one of our many armed forces. Their training or re-assignments, should they be veterans, would be a fast track to serve this country now or be deployed on behalf of the USA to serve our allies in war.

Of course, the last thing I would want to see happen is our military being burdened with a bunch of irresponsible individuals unable to manage their own anger.

The question remains: when are we going to have some meaningful gun regulations in this country? If the idea I’m proposing seems far-fetched, then as society I think we all have to accept that madness is the new norm. We should all expect to mourn our loved ones and/or die at the hands of radical losers who refuse to seek help and prefer to make others experience, as they have, a lifetime of misery.

Susan Sandack, Salt Lake City

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