(In response to Lyndon Heywood’s letter, “Time for state action on guns,” Jan. 4.) While I abhor the recent gun violence and certainly don’t condone guns in the hands of criminals or those deemed not responsible for their actions, “gun control,” whatever that means, is not the answer.

Mr. Heywood cites the example of the ban on all handguns by the UK, as what “a capable, effective and representative government can do.” Our current government can’t even agree on what’s fiscally best for our country, let alone come up with a legal, constitutionally permissible policy on firearms. I don’t want our government, state or federal, knowing if I have guns, ammo or any other items associated with firearms. Folks like me are NOT the problem!

Deranged, criminally-inclined and those in need of heavy-duty anger management are. Why should Washington state, “have among the strictest guns laws in the country…”?  Stricter than Washington, D.C., Detroit or other crime-ridden municipalities?

I have guns, as do thousands in this state, and apparently in the words of Mr. Heywood, we’re “fragile human beings” for possessing them. I’m not “fragile,” and I’m sure the other gun owners in our state don’t see themselves in that way either. I’ve heard no one come up with a sensible solution to the possession of firearms by those who shouldn’t have them. When they do, I’ll listen.

Dick Bowne, Redmond