To the editor:

Standing on my driveway while reading through Robert Lee’s column last Saturday, I couldn’t help a furtive look to either side. Surely the quiet of my tucked-away little street would not be shattered by an ISIS-inspired lunatic.

Reminded of my own U.S. Army training after enjoying Mr. Lee’s recent, informative series about his U.S. Marine experience at Parris Island, I pondered whether, approaching age 60, I could still employ self-defense tactics imparted upon me by drill sergeants so long ago. Should I pack “heat” for these morning treks to the end of my driveway?

I only poke some gentle fun at the tough old former Marine because he can take it as well as he can dish it. I know, as well, that he is sincere. But it begs the question: How should citizens prepare for such physical threats?

On July 23 in Lafayette, Louisiana, moviegoers were armed only with tickets and popcorn as a 59-year-old gunman opened fire, killing three. This echoed an incident at a Colorado theater in which 12 were killed three years ago.

On June 17, nine people went to a church in Charleston, South Carolina armed with only Bibles and prayer, only to be shot dead by a disturbed young man. None of those incidents has been linked to inspiration by radical Islam.

In his criticism of the 1992 law restricting military service members from carrying firearms in certain areas, and given the frequency of sudden gun violence against citizens in recent years, whether or not inspired by radical Islam, Mr. Lee confronts us with a wider issue. How should we compromise our open society, with its relatively free mobility, in order to answer 21st-century threats?

How many “good folks with guns” seeking to stop “bad folks with guns” will we need? Recruiters? Schoolteachers? Pastors? Theater ushers? How many accidents and poor-judgment incidents on the part of good folks using these guns will be tolerable?

None of this is to dismiss Mr. Lee’s genuine concerns about ISIS, nor the disturbed folks they may inspire close to home. The president’s recent opening to Iran, and the opportunities to monitor its nuclear capabilities, should provide more hope than concern in relieving tensions in that region.

Still, we should pause to remember all that we value about the basics of American society — and how to keep it that way. In that manner, the response of Charleston’s Emanuel AME Zion Church family members was simple and powerful.

Powerful enough to change, in a matter of days, some deeply rooted traditions in their state. More powerful than guns.

Douglas Smith

Rockingham