Steve Bader needs to cut the rhetoric ("'Shoot the Burglar' bill an unnecessary and dangerous idea," March 21). Instead of trying to scare readers by conjuring up images of Tommy guns, the Godfather and AK-47s, perhaps he should actually read the law about which he so eagerly opines.

The proposed revision to the law governing deadly force in North Dakota would permit a homeowner to use deadly force if an intruder unlawfully and forcibly enters his home. So no, contrary to Bader's emotional claims, it will not be legal for a homeowner to use deadly force against someone who simply stumbles into the wrong house.

Bader's irresponsible use of statistics is equally disgraceful -- North Dakota and Minnesota have nearly identical conceal and carry laws, yet Bader attempts to use the large difference in violent crime rate between the states to claim that more guns result in more crime, despite extensive research to the contrary.

Finally, Bader closes his column by suggesting that homeowners should simply call the police rather than defend themselves. In a rural state like North Dakota, that's especially ridiculous -- law enforcement has to cover a large area with few officers, making it unlikely that they'll be able to arrest the intruder before he or she attacks you.

I don't know why Bader assumes that gun owners are trigger-happy villains eagerly awaiting the opportunity to kill someone and get away with it. Gun owners are typically law-abiding citizens who take seriously the responsibility of owning a firearm. It's repulsive to portray them as more dangerous than criminals who break into homes.