SwiftVets.com

[Guest]

Maj. Mark Smith is correct. Guns and other weapons do not kill. People do. Do not punish the weapon. Legally kill by any means the murderer. They will not kill again.
Danny "Greasy" Belcher, Executive Director
Task Force Omega of KY Inc.
Vietnam Infantry Sgt. 68-69
"D" Troop 7th Sqdn. 1st Air Cav

Dear Sir, I read with personal interest the letters
critical of John Arnone and Bill Cymbalsky supporting
the death penalty. We even get to read the absurd
rationale claiming that guns and not people kill. In
our cities where gun ownership is restricted the law
abiding are at the mercy of those who bring in guns
illegally. Gun ownership is enshrined in our
constitution in the USA ,but, has been under attack by
the left for decades. Never has it been seriously
threatened. .
I know personally the cost of gun related murder. My
son and namesake was gunned down by a young criminal
he had known since age nine , just five years ago. Why
did the criminal gun down my son? He was running from
the law and my son refused to miss his college class
to give him a ride. What is my point? The killer was
allowed to plead to "manslaughter" in return for a
guilty plea. Prosecutors feared at trial this gang
member would bring up his broken home and failure to
finish school for his attitude and behavior. He got
the maximum sentence of eighteen to thirty years. He
will be back on the street. He had shot my son
multiple times. Did he deserve to die? You're darned
right he did. We do not blame the gun,we blame the
punk.
. During the run up to the trial
there was fear for my family from this gangsters
associates, because,we were pushing for the maximum
penalty. We are a family of soldiers and police and we
felt no fear. We constitutionally maintain enough
personal protection to ward off attack until official
help arrives. In the face of this tragedy we continue
to support the constitutional right to bear arms and
the death penalty for those who murder, regardless of
their weapon of choice. .
How do I know the death penalty is a deterrent? That
is easy for me to answer. I have spent my life killing
people,legally,on behalf of governments. I also spent
time in the worst type prison on earth,a POW camp. I
maintain constant discipline which keeps me from doing
what became easy for me: killing. After my experience
with the Vietnamese an American jail holds no fear for
me. If not for the death penalty that punk would be
dead. It kept me from taking him out. It worked for
me. Thank you John and Bill for taking a stand which
is rarely popular,until you are directly effected by
those who murder.
Major Mark A. Smith,USA, Retired