Letters to the Editor: Orlando Sentinel
Published May 3, 2026
Val Mobley
What is a “responsible” gun owner? The gun rights and 2nd Amendment enthusiasts like to say that any restrictions on purchasing a gun is a violation of responsible guns owners’ rights.
I can tell you what [I believe] an “irresponsible” gun owner is. One who leaves a gun in their unlocked car. One who leaves a gun in the couch cushion that a toddler or small child can get to. One who doesn’t secure the guns in the home. Ones who sell to underage people, typically at gun shows. One who knowingly buys for a felon. One who is a felon and knows they are not allowed to have a gun. Ones who are underage. Need I go on?
It appears that there a far more irresponsible gun owners than responsible ones.
The statistics on gun deaths in this country are hard to come by. The lobby for gun rights keeps anyone trying to collect data on gun deaths hamstrung. Yet, look at the evening news on any local TV station and you will hear reports of gun violence every day. Most often the accidental finding of a gun by a small child is fatal.
And now in Florida anyone can openly carry a gun. How safe are our law enforcement officers if everyone is carrying a gun? How are they to tell who the “good guys with a gun” are? How are they to tell who the “bad” guys are? Open carry has made the job of law enforcement all that more dangerous.
Sensible gun legislation is almost impossible in the US. The gun manufacturers have Congressional approval to NOT be regulated. The ammunition industry is out of control. Who needs an assault rifle with a 100-round cylinder?
Now the states unelected attorney general is suggesting that a felon who is not dangerous (who is that?) should have the right to own a gun. The case in point is a man from Pennsylvania who was found in Florida with a gun and many rounds of ammo. The AG says he was convicted of a low-level felony and should have his gun. The AG says this man is not dangerous. My question is, doesn’t the amount of ammo he had with him make him dangerous? What was he planning to do with all that ammo?