To the editor:

My terrible, horrible, no-good communication week ended with Saturday’s Gazette headline, “Jordan: Let Ohioans carry concealed guns without permits.” As a Christian, I’ve never given any money to any sort of conservative group but this week I got a call from the NRA telling me that Hillary Clinton will get rid of the Second Amendment. Even as president, she can’t do that.

Another day I received a letter from the Faith and Freedom Coalition with a survey and request for money so they can put 20 million voter guides in 117,000 churches. This coalition listed many other items that are more infringements on our First Amendment rights. Our forefathers implied in the First Amendment separation of church and state. The Faith and Freedom Coalition is not abiding by our forefathers’ intentions.

Less than an hour later, I got a call from a group that said that President Obama was going to make boys and girls use the same school bathrooms. I thought they were talking about the transgender issue. I explained that, but no, the caller said that the president is going to have boys and girls in the same bathrooms in schools.

Didn’t the head of Cleveland’s largest police union ask the governor to suspend the open carry law during the (convention) week in Cleveland? Of course, the governor doesn’t have that authority.

Now back to Sen. (Kris) Jordan’s Senate Bill 341, allowing Ohioans to carry concealed firearms without training or a permit, the “Constitutional Carry” bill. What will be next in this gun-crazy nation?

The Second Amendment says, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” A Prentice Hall textbook interpreted that amendment by stating: “[Members of] State militia such as the National Guard have the right to bear arms, or keep weapons. Courts have generally ruled that the government can regulate the ownership of guns by private citizens.”

After the Sandy Hook tragedy where children, teachers and an administrator were gunned down by an unbalanced, young man, reasonable, sane legislation was proposed to prevent more such incidents. The NRA controlled the outcome; nothing happened. The Sandy Hook parents were devastated, but they are not giving up. Nor should we. They are continually working on federal legislation.

We in Ohio have extreme right-leaning, conservative leaders falling all over each other, yelling the old chant: “They are trying to take away our religion, our freedom and our guns.”

And I say the well-worn retort: “Give me a break!”

Barbara Sue Elfner

Delaware