Letters: Armed citizens could have reduced Orlando death toll

Dean Slade’s June 20 column, “We must balance the Second Amendment with Americans’ basic rights,” was a vague statement with little actual value other than raw emotion. He completely ignores the true motives of the Muslim shooter in Orlando, who stated his loyalty to ISIS, because that is not convenient to his case.

I wholeheartedly agree that homosexuals should be treated kindly and allowed the dignity of the human rights we all share. The most basic of those rights is preservation of life, or self-defense. Imagine for a moment how different the results would have been if there were even 10 people in that place who were exercising their right to self-defense by carrying a concealed weapon. Yes, it would still have been bedlam, but some of those 50 people would still be alive.

Our right to life must be balanced against the evil intent of shooters, whether they are extremist Muslims or have another agenda. We cannot sit around in large groups and wait for five or 10 minutes for police to show up.