Letter from Chip Northrup

Gun Laws Should Be Sane, Sensible

My company makes marksmanship training simulators for the military. We use military weapons, all of which are variants of the AR 15, as the simulation controller, so that the Marine or soldier can use their service weapon in the simulation. The rifles are machine guns capable of firing up to 800 rounds per minute. To develop the simulations at our offices in Texas and North Carolina, we use the HK 416 for the Marines and the Sig MCX for the Army. What they can do to a human body you don’t want to know—which is why there are no open caskets after a school shooting.

I see very little rationale for the use of such firearms by civilians, unless the owner is a member of the National Guard or a licensed security guard, etc. If civilian ownership of AR 15s is not simply banned outright at the state or federal level, the ownership of such high ammo-capacity semi-auto rifles should require the posting of a surety bond by the owner, a regular proficiency test of their use for the owner, and civil and criminal liability for everyone in the firearm’s chain of custody, including parents. No more pearl-clutching “thoughts and prayers.” Sane, sensible gun laws. Vote accordingly. Somewhere, some time, some school child will be glad you did.

Chip Northrup
Cooperstown