On December 18, 2021, The Post-Journal was kind enough to to print an article that I wrote about marijuana dispensaries and why we should “Opt Out.” It was a lengthy article and the facts were indisputable. You can find it on the internet if you like.

One of the points I mentioned was the potential for an increase in crime . Well guess what? In talking with some of the Jamestown detectives it turns out that these shootings are defiantly drug related.

To quote a paragraph in the August 23, 2022, Post-Journal “More people have been injured or killed by gunfire in Jamestown in the first seven and a half months of this year than nearly the last two combined.” One could argue that the legalization of pot had nothing to do with the uptick in shootings but that would be ignorance at its best.

The argument for dispensaries was an increase in tax revenue and that it’s not a gateway drug because it’s not addictive. None of that nonsense is true and my article backs it up with expert testimony.

It doesn’t appear that these shootings have been a wake up call to anyone including the citizens of Jamestown. I really dread the day when someone gets hurt or killed in a crossfire. But if that happens don’t blame any of our representatives. Silence was a vote for drug dispensaries.

Every time a shooting accrues some of our politicians pontificate for more gun control and many play into that mantra without the facts. But I don’t understand why.

New York state has some of the strictest laws in the country and our Surrogate County Judge does not tolerate mistakes or recklessness. Mess up once and you surrender your pistol permit and your firearms which may include your long guns also.

I presented one question and one question only to our local Assemblyman. “Can you tell me if anyone has been killed with a registered hand gun by a permit holder?” He took it the floor and no one could answer that question because it has not happened. But the juggernaut keeps coming and coming after our self-defense handguns even though they had nothing to with mass shootings. Please adjust your thinking — there is something wrong with this picture.

If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck and quacks like a duck you don’t need a veterinarian to tell you it’s a duck. Or maybe you do.

Bruce Piatz is a Jamestown resident.