I’ve been a gun owner since age 11, when my father bought me a .22-caliber rifle.

Recently, there was a countrywide march of gun owners, protesting possible restrictions on having guns. Congratulations for standing up for your rights.

However, the right to own guns is not being threatened. During the 232 years of our country, no government agency has ever collected personal guns.

Seventy percent of Americans (according to a recent MSN poll) are also protesting, standing up for their belief that military-style weapons, with high-capacity magazines and rapid fire rates, are dangers to their safety. They wish to have those weapons banned from possession and sale. As a responsible gun owner, I’m in strict agreement with this. These weapons have no other use than killing people.

Vermont recently passed legislation banning large-capacity magazines and bump stocks. Massachusetts has had a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for 20 years. Others will certainly follow.

These changes are entirely legal. Justice Antonin Scalia, in the majority interpretation of the Second Amendment in District of Columbia v. Heller, said that governments have the right to ban guns or other weapons that are threats to public safety.

There are no “slippery slopes,” to use a term frequently cited by the National Rifle Association. For over two centuries, Americans have owned and used guns, and that will continue long into the future.

Bruce Bartrug

Nobleboro

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