Last thing we need is more gun laws

I AM at a loss to understand the specious reasoning behind the proposal to place a $25 dollar surcharge on legal law-abiding buyers of registered handguns in the state in order to fund spinal cord injury research ("Handgun surcharge urged for research," City & Region, March 15). The quote in the article, "It's a privilege to own a gun," is incorrect, since the Second Amendment clearly provides for citizen gun ownership.

This proposal is a classic example of demonizing an item as being intrinsically bad when in truth the item itself, whether it be a gun, an automobile, or a bottle of beer, is neutral. It is the misuse or abuse of the item that is bad.

The public would be better served if the Globe, instead of writing about movements to institute even more laws that would not affect criminal gun owners, were to investigate how much current gun laws are enforced. With the plethora of gun laws in this state, it seems that just about every violent criminal in Massachusetts should be in prison within a relatively short time if enforcement were stepped up.

JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN
Lakeville