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An open letter to those who believe in the wisdom of exercising the right to sell firearms to the residents of Vashon Island:

What infinitely remote danger motivates anyone to tell the people of Vashon to purchase guns? On a scale of one to 10, how likely is it that some maniac is going to shoot up this town?

The first time I saw the sandwich board sign at the intersection of Vashon Highway and Bank Road announcing the sale of guns and ammunition, I tasted vomit rising in my throat. Not surprisingly, that’s probably the same reaction I’d have if I saw some maniac shooting up the same intersection.

In the Jan. 6 letter to the editor, “Gun seller should be able to advertise with no harassment,” the letter reads, “Americans are scared. Your friends and neighbors are arming themselves with personal defense firearms.” Those are the only words offered that might explain why it’s a good idea to peddle guns and bullets.

We’re all scared, and our friends and neighbors are arming themselves? It sounds like a third-rate movie titled, “Armageddon Comes to Vashon Island.” Here’s the TV Guide plot synopsis: “Gun business booms, then all hell breaks loose.”

In my mind, guns and those who sell them are profoundly scary and dangerous. No one should make a living from spreading instruments of death and destruction around an Eden like Vashon Island.

—Mike Pankratz