More readers discuss public safety and gun control

In 1954, I had a M1 semi-automatic rifle with nine-round capacity furnished by the U.S. Army. I did not know any civilians with semi-automatic rifles. My rifle was kept in the company arms room under lock and key and was issued to me when my duties required. I retired from the Army Reserve in 1996. My individual weapon was an M16 semi-automatic/fully automatic rifle with a 12-to-15-round capacity. It was kept in the company arms room and issued to me when my duties required. The military has a need for weapons and knows how to provide them to soldiers. Civilians do not have the ability to secure and maintain military weapons.

There is a severe danger to the public when military weapons are available to everyone. The control of military style weapons with high capacity magazines is not a constitutional issue, but a safety and common sense issue.

— Forrest R. (Rick) Fenn, Bedford

As a former first grade teacher, it's apparent that any gunman breaking into my classroom with an AR-15 rifle would be able to kill me and all my students before I could even reach for a gun.

— Sharon Austry, Fort Worth

Common sense gun laws are anything but common. Some people's common sense laws are complete confiscation and others think there should be no laws at all. Some estimates put the number of guns in the United States at 350 million.

We can't even round up 11 million undocumented immigrants, so how are we going to round up the guns.

Gun laws are the only laws that effect the law-abiding but don't affect criminals. After all the mistakes made by the authorities before the Florida shooting, it just shows that it many cases it is up to you to protect yourself and your family.

— James Greer, Fort Worth

Oklahoma is building safe rooms in each class room — bullet proof (sort of like a tornado shelter).

This is probably very expensive. A vote would most likely pass.

— Linda Drilling, Southlake

How about some perspective? (“America’s gun culture continues running amok.”)

Each year about another 40,000 people die from poisonings, 30,000 from falls, 40,000 from auto crashes, accidents 116,000, abortion 935,000, heart disease 525,000 . . .

While obviously horrific, shocking and despicable, “mass shootings” pale in comparison to the deaths we otherwise seem to accept as just part of life and freedom’s results.

— Richard M. Holbrook, Weatherford

We should ban assault rifles.

And when that doesn’t work; We should confiscate assault rifles.

And when that doesn’t work; We should ban all rifles.

And when that doesn’t work; We should ban all revolvers.

And when that doesn’t work; We should ban knives.

And when that doesn’t work; We should ban bats, clubs and pipes.

And when that doesn’t work; We should ban explosive chemicals.

And when that doesn’t work; We should ban all poisons.

And when that doesn’t work…

Proof that these new laws won’t work? Existing laws against murder, first degree, second degree and manslaughter; laws against armed robbery: How well do these laws work?

We have laws against speeding, for heaven sakes. Yet if you drive, I’ll bet you speed almost on a daily basis, whereas you believe that criminals and madmen always obey the law.

— Lincoln Angelius, North Richland Hills

It's crazy to think we need guard towers on our schools to watch everybody that tries to get into a school, but it might come to something like that.

Stopping the shooter from getting inside is the key as we all know. But just imagine for a moment a shooter inside an overcrowded classroom blazing away with an assault rifle and a half trained teacher in panic mode also blazing away?

I don’t think you need anyone telling you what might happen?

If you care about your kids, check who the NRA owns (its listed) and vote 'em out.

— Dale Allen, Hurst

A person carrying an AR-15 in public is up to no good and should be stopped immediately. It could save untold lives.

I own one and political influences make me skeptical of banning them. However, I do see a reason for confining them to the home, the range and the hunt. It seems a statute could be crafted to accomplish that without infringing anyone’s Second Amendment rights.

— Robert Witherspoon, Graham

This story was originally published March 13, 2018 at 11:16 AM with the headline "More readers discuss public safety and gun control."