A letter to the editor of the Aspen Times, the next valley to the south of me.

As a lifelong gun owner, I taught my four children, their spouses, and my grandchildren to shoot. I served in the U.S. Air Force, and I was a physician in the emergency room of an Aurora hospital the December night of the Chuck E. Cheese’s massacre.

On Tuesday, Sen. Cory Gardner was in Aspen and said he has no desire to implement gun control. The Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self evident — we are endowed by our Creator (we Christians call him God) with certain unalienable Rights — Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The mass killings in Las Vegas, Sandy Hook, Columbine and the Aurora theater have deprived many people and families of life, liberty, and happiness.

I ask Sen. Gardner: “Are politicians stupid or gutless? Do you as a group lack wisdom to come up with some common sense restrictions or lack courage to do the right thing?” Stop worrying about reelection. Even though you are the fifth largest recipient of NRA funds, they will not be able to buy you the election. The people of Colorado deserve reasonable protections. Instead of thinking the problem is about gun restrictions, think of it as human life protection laws. People in other countries watch violent video games, suffer mental illness, and have lunatic fringe. The difference is the U.S. has massive gun ownership and minimal restrictions.

William Mitchell

Aspen