I would like to know why our elected officials feel they need to make criminals out of law-abiding Connecticut gun owners such as myself. Do they realize that the definition of a criminal is someone who does not abide by the laws? So I ask what good are the banning, restricting, and registering of firearms and magazines if the only people who abide by the rules are non-criminals anyway? This will only disarm and prevent law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves, which is a blatant grab at our constitutional rights.

I'm concerned to see our elected officials so quick to shove knee-jerk reaction legislation down the throats of the people of Connecticut. This legislation will directly affect Connecticut manufacturers including Colt, Mossberg, Stag Arms, Mec-Gar, OKAY Industries, Ruger, and Metalform. This will result in an additional loss of jobs in a state with an 8.6 percent unemployment rate and will cause a loss of tax revenue. This clearly makes no sense.

I urge readers to contact their local state senator and representative and tell them not to support gun control legislation such as proposed bill No. 161 which infringes upon our rights; remind them they still work for us, the people of Connecticut.