Thank you for “Patron of handgunners?” (CR, July 23). I wholeheartedly agree with John Snyder’s position on our fundamental rights under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. A firearm is an inanimate object. It is neither intrinsically good nor evil. Those that believe that confiscatory gun laws, which deprive law abiding citizens of their means of self defense, will reduce violent crime rates are wrong. In fact, it is undeniable that the cities with the most stringent handgun laws also have the highest murder rates. Legal gun ownership discourages criminal behavior. Robbers or burglars are unlikely to choose victims with the means to defend themselves. The story of the courageous St. Possenti proves the point. His use of a handgun effectively discouraged the marauders and saved the woman. During World War II, the Japanese did not try to invade the U.S. mainland because they believed there was, “a rifle behind every blade of grass.” As Snyder put it, our constitutional right to bear arms is “the prime supporter of the right to life.”