The following is a letter I wrote to Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon after she was kind enough to answer my letter about the Second Amendment. In her return letter she mentioned "hunting is an important tradition across the state."

My response: "You mentioned hunting in your reply and I certainly have many friends that are hunters. I am not. As an Army veteran, I enjoy shooting target (paper) and shoot both pistols and rifles -- shotguns, too.

"I believe the Second Amendment is not about hunting but the ability to defend against a corrupt government. In this sometimes crazy world, conservatives are portrayed as people that don't care as much as liberals but need I remind you that if it came to it, I would have laid down my life for people such as yourself and everyone in the USA.

"I ask that you include gun people in solving violence and not just some feel-good passage of another gun law that will have little effect (20,000 gun laws are on the books already). If passing a law made it so, than we could just pass a law against murder."

An added note that was not included would be: When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

Tom Donnell

O'Fallon