Letter to the editor: Where has all the ammo gone?

By NED SCARLET Cleveland

Editor,
Earlier this year my kids gave me a gift card for a large sporting goods store located upstate. I recently had an appointment in Salt Lake City and planned to stop on the way home and use this card. I had heard rumors that ammunition had become scarce and since I can always use more bullets I thought I would see if the rumors were true.
I went to the rear of the store and headed for the tables and shelves where ammunition was kept. It didn’t take long to see the rumors were true. I don’t know if this store is representative of the whole area, but the shelves and tables were empty of most ammunition. What ammunition they did have was almost double in price.
Fortunately I am not out of ammo, like many others I just want to have some more. You know, just in case, the Democrats and some spineless Republicans, supported by an anti-gun media do the unthinkable, which they have thought of for decades, and take away a citizens right to keep and bear arms.
But then I thought what good it would do to have a stockpile of weapons if they are illegal to own with a prison term the penalty for possession. We won’t be able to go anywhere to shoot our guns, since this would draw the attention of the authorities. We won’t be able to carry them or use them in our homes for protection, since doing so would likely make us subject to a penalty more severe than our attacker will receive. All we could do if we keep our guns is stash them away in a secret hiding place. Then I guess if some manmade or natural disaster turns the planet into a “Mad Max” type movie set, we could protect ourselves and our families. As far as defending ourselves from a runaway government’s military or police force, we can forget that. We might be able to put up a fight for a while, which would be our duty, but we could never stand up to any concentrated military type assault, alone or together.
So what is the best defense to this probable assault on our liberties? My answer is to utilize the most important freedom in our nation. In future elections we need to go to the polls and vote for our candidates with the same vigor shown buying up guns and ammo. We need to join and contribute money to organizations such as the NRA, which will try to legally stop any unnecessary restrictions on our right to bear arms proposed by Congress and later signed by an approving President.
As for buying up guns and ammunition, do so while you still can, if you want. Just don’t be fooled into believing the possession of these weapons will ever be as powerful or destructive as won or lost elections. To ensure that we keep our freedoms we must value and participate in our right to vote above all else.