I was delighted to read Wayne Laugesen's article (Wayne's Word, September 23) about the perils of gun control and how private ownership of guns save lives.

If the reader responses against this controversial view are of the caliber of those to his article about recycling, I can expect nothing more than sarcastic rhetoric and the "guns kill" mantra Mr. Laugesen mentioned. Like government recycling laws, the existence of gun control laws make people feel better, despite the evidence that they are ineffective and dangerous.

If private citizens can not legally own guns, then they will be defenseless against criminals and government agents who make a living through theft, corruption, and murder. These thugs advocate gun control laws, as they create more victims. The police can not protect everyone. Their job is to clean up after the damage is done.

What I find fascinating is that the first significant gun control law was the National Firearms Act of 1934. (See Unintended Consequences, by John Ross) This is one year after the end of Prohibition of alcohol ended. In its thirteen years of existence, the US Treasury's budget for enforcing this law grew over ten times. This money paid the salaries of many Prohibition enforcers, who, after Prohibition ended in 1933, had little to do.

I have never never heard of the government laying people off. In fact, during the Great Depression, the US Government grew tremendously. One way for the former Prohibition agents to keep their jobs was for the government to create more criminals: people who value their lives enough to want to defend it with a gun.

Keep up the good work, Wayne.

Sincerely, Brian Schwartz
Boulder