In viewing the Sentinel’s website I find the issue of gun control has engendered a lively debate, and
that is a healthy thing. From his latest missive, I see Dr. Feeman sliding further into paranoia with
talk of "packing heat," and an "NRA playbook." His rhetorical question about people
dying because of concealed carry permit holders bespeaks a lack of understanding both of permit holders
and of the intent of the Founding Fathers in including the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights.
If you read the debate surrounding the inclusion of the 2nd Amendment, you will plainly see this is
intended to be an individual right; not a collective right, as our web troll stubbornly asserts. The
collective rights argument is simply an artifice, created by gun banners when their movement began to
gain traction.
James Madison’s writings in the Federalist Papers illustrates the intent to confer an individual right
superbly. If any further proof supporting the individual right argument is needed, I would direct your
attention to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Heller case.
Dr. Feeman seems to live in constant terror of CCW permit holders, and this fear is unfounded. These
folks are among the most responsible citizens, and the infinitesimally small revocation rate for the
permits bears this out. It would be interesting to know how many CCW permits our county Sheriff’s
Department has issued since 2004, and how many of those have been revoked due to a gun crime committed
by the permit holder.
In regard to an "NRA playbook," if such exists, they somehow neglected to send me a copy. As to
the idea of holding a constitutional convention for the purpose of repealing the 2nd Amendment, that
nostrum does not even merit comment; so I will simply say to Dr. Feeman, "Take two Xanax and call
me in the morning."
I hope I have answered Dr. Feemans’ questions, and now I would pose a question to him. How many patients
must die before the medical profession begins policing itself; weeding out the quacks, the incompetent,
and the senile? While our web troll naively calls their butchery "accidents," the majority are
the result of gross negligence and/or incompetence on the part of the healthcare provider. Do 98,000
deaths a year not bother you? Isn’t it time to clean up your own back yard?
Doyle H. Phillips
Jerry City