Jim Mallon, “The real threat,” June 23, wandered through seven paragraphs of his mental anguish on why we suffer through all the carnage and death that occurs in our country while dismissing the obvious lapse of mental health programs or border enforcement that really is the root of the insanity that is visited upon us almost weekly. Jim then does the “ah ha!” conclusion that it’s guns that are at fault.
I would wager that there are more deaths and injury in this country because of cell phones. Granted that distracted driving only takes out one or two victims at a time, but the collective impact of fiddling with a cell phone whether texting or calling or retrieving it after it has slipped off the car seat should, using Jim’s logic, require that we ought to ban cell phones. How about pressure cookers? Should we require a background check to purchase a pressure cooker? That was the weapon of choice in Boston.
Every day there are responsible citizens, which most of us are, protecting their life, property, and family with the use of a gun. The NRA documents many of these incidents in its magazine, and it’s unfortunate that these cases are not publicized more. Police and sheriff in this county and others throughout America admit that they can’t get to everyone in time to prevent the bad guys from making you a victim. Many of the tragedies that have happened are in “gun free zones.” States and counties that have a high gun ownership are among the least to experience outlaw behavior. I hesitate to trot out this well-worn admonishment but for what it’s worth, “When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns.” I would hope that if faced with protecting you and your loved ones that you have been disarmed by Jim Mallon’s faulty logic.
This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2016.