Letter writer is an 'apple-pie American'

last updated: March 19, 2008 06:22:52 AM

Name: Daniel Cron, 63

Occupation: Retired deputy sheriff/crime scene analyst/forensic photographer/fingerprint examiner. "I currently work part-time contracting with the State of California as a fingerprint examiner. Certified Latent (fingerprint) Print Examiner, Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst."

Hobbies: Electronics experimenter/amateur radio operator since age 11. Member of the Morse Telegraph Club. "I enjoy communicating by Morse code with other ham operators throughout the world. I also enjoy photography and have had as many as 30 cameras at one time."

A Modesto Bee reader since: 1974, when I moved to Modesto

How many letters have been published in The Bee: "A lot but I didn't keep track of the number." (The Bee files show about 38 since 1994.

Favorite topic(s) to write on: "Politicians who violate the United States Constitution by passing illegal laws and getting away with it. Politicians who think that you can stop criminals by passing laws which disarm citizens. The tendency of politicians to blame the private ownership of guns for crimes committed by criminals with stolen guns. The advantages of concealed weapons permits for the public in combating crime. Illegal immigration and how it contributes to crime.

The increase in violent crime in countries after the private ownership of guns was made illegal because criminals kept their guns but citizens, fearing government action, gave theirs up. The knowledge that the police won't get there the instant you need them and how owning a gun can save your life. I believe passing more gun laws will not prevent criminals from having guns. Guns can be made in any machine shop just as drugs can be made in a travel trailer. Passing more gun laws is like expecting illegal drugs to disappear just because there is a law against them. I believe creating more and more gun laws which disarm the American public will create a bootleg industry of totally untraceable, illegally manufactured guns just like passing laws against liquor backfired and created a bootleg liquor industry of illegal alcohol."

Why do you write? "I write because there are too many well-intentioned people who believe that guns cause crime when in reality they stop crime more often than not. As a retired law enforcement officer I know first hand that we cops can't always arrive on time to help you when you need us. The people who survive criminal attacks are the people who are able to defend themselves until the police arrive. I try to make people aware there is an alternative to just giving up and dying when they are attacked. I also write to inform people there are real forces at work trying to dismantle the sovereignty of the United States and turning us into subjects instead of citizens."

Excerpt from a published letter: "Under the U.S. Constitution, we have the right to bear arms to protect ourselves. Lawmakers who violate that right are traitors. It's not the good people with guns that they should be afraid of, it's the criminals with guns, and criminals will always have guns. Criminals smuggle tons of illegal drugs into the United States every day. Do you honestly believe they don't, or wouldn't, smuggle guns, too? — from "Wasden's hands tied by state law," Sept. 11, 2007.

Reaction to letters: "I have friends and neighbors who make a point of contacting me and telling me how my letter in The Bee was 'right on target' and how much they enjoy reading my letters. My wife occasionally has people at work who stop her and tell her how much they enjoy reading my letters to the editor."

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