I disagree on one important point with Bill Nemitz’s column on Dec. 6, “As shootings grow routine, so do fear and questioning.” He writes that the average citizen armed with a small-caliber pistol has a slim to zero chance of defending himself or herself in an attack against someone wielding an assault-style weapon.

I suggest that anyone with a firearm of any kind has a better chance than someone who has no firearm. If I have a pistol and the person next to me has a pistol, I’m going to do my doggone best, along with that friend or stranger, to come out alive. It makes better sense than sitting there defenseless while 12 people die empty-handed, waiting for law enforcement to show up.

Valmore Vigue

Solon