Letters to the Editor 12-14-1999
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Gun Problem - Fire Response - Violent Video Games - Wrong Comparison
Gun Problem
Editor, Times-Union:In response to Mr. Larry Hill's letter "Gun Problem" of 12/10.
Just how much "debate and compromise" will make you happy Mr. Hill? Currently, nationwide, there are more than 20,000 gun laws on the books. The ink had not dried on the Bill of Rights before the Second Amendment was under attack. The "debate" has been going on for more than 200 years.
Compromise, Mr. Hill? Sorry, but there can be no compromise. Every time we have tried to compromise with the anti-gun forces they have simply come back with more demands. You may not be proposing the outlawing of all guns but the anti-gunners certainly are. They keep denying it but that is where they're headed, none the less. As evidence I would like to present Ms. Rosie O'Donnell. As I'm sure you're aware, Ms. O'Donnell did advertising for K-Mart and is also very anti-gun. She recently resigned her position with K-Mart due to what she felt was a conflict of interest. K-Mart sells firearms, right? Well, K-Mart sells nothing but what would be considered sporting weapons. No handguns and nothing that could be classified an "assault" weapon, but, to Ms. O'Donnell and her cronies, a gun is a gun.
You feel the "real drive to prevent any compromise in gun control is money." Wrong again Mr. Hill. The only drive to prevent gun control is the Second Amendment which applies to you as well as me. Money is nothing but one tool. The First Amendment is beginning to feel some heat in these troubled times. Is that also about money?
As to your notion that guns are used more often as a means of suicide and accidental shootings than defense, once again you're wrong. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, firearms are used an estimated 2.4 million times a year in self defense and to prevent criminal acts. Prior to 1993, only some 20 states had concealed carry permits but today there is only a dozen or so that don't. Most state legislators have found that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens is a very strong deterrent to crime.
I come from a time, Mr. Hill, when firearms were far more easy to obtain than they are today but we didn't have all these problems. I think it's time we started looking for causes rather than scapegoats.
Harold Kitson, Warsaw
Fire Response
Editor, Times-Union:I have recently experienced something that I never thought I would. Our barn caught fire. I watched in amazement when Akron fire department sprang into action, then came Rochester and Mentone. They have to be some of the best! These men went into a very hot barn doing everything they could to save it for us. Putting on oxygen tanks, ripping out burning hay and spraying it with water. In came a loader and a bobcat to pull the burning hay away from the barn. These men saved our barn and to them a very heart- felt thank you.
Dave and Kris Starner, Akron
Violent Video Games
Editor, Times-Union:I was reading the letters to the editor, and came across Mr. Hill's letter concerning guns and gun violence. I am not writing to reply to his statements, I am writing to make a few statements of my own concerning his reference to violent video games and their supposed influence upon young people.
I am 19 years old, well within the prime market for video and computer games, and I own and play many. All throughout my career in both middle school and high school, and to this day, I played these games as one of my favorite hobbies. To be honest I have played, and owned, some of the most violent video and computer games on the market. I have spent many hours playing kill-or-be-killed games. Those readers who also play these games will recognize such titles as Half-Life, Quake II, and Rainbow Six, a game based on the Tom Clancy novel. All of these titles are violent in the extreme.
However, contrary to what critics and critical research have claimed should have happened to me, I have not become a thoughtless killer, or desensitized to violence and killing. According to recent media, and the rash of school violence, I would have been a danger factor to my high school during my time there. I fit the list: I played violent video games, had the ability to acquire firearms, and was not the most socially active member of my class. However, contrary to the statistics, I was an excellent student throughout my career, and even walked away on my last day of school the owner of a truck given to me for perfect attendance.
My point is that one should not be too quick to slap a label upon something. For the few who commit senseless, violent acts, motivated perhaps (and I stress perhaps) by their violent games, there are millions more who enjoy the rush of a killer game, and understand that it is simply a game and nothing more. I am happy to be one of those millions. I appreciate you, the reader, taking the time to read my thoughts.
Tim Keyes, Warsaw via email
Wrong Comparison
Editor, Times-Union:Response to Larry Hill:
Sorry buddy, your comparison of guns to drugs, has one huge flaw.
Not everyone who uses a gun does so to kill someone...but everyone who uses drugs does so to get high!
Possessing a gun is not illegal... possessing drugs is!
I agree, keep the dialogue open, put some teeth into sentencing these idiots who use a gun to commit a crime with no suspensions or plea bargains.
Make the laws absolute. No judge should be able to alter the sentence for any crime committed with a gun. We should continue to use our jury system, but after you are found guilty a judge should be mandated to go to a book and give out a mandatory sentence.
Like for instance:
Use a gun to commit a robbery... 15 years. That's it, no exceptions. Shoot someone but don't kill them... 20 years. That's it, no exceptions. Kill someone with a gun intentionally... Death Penalty. That's it, no exceptions.
Sounds too simple, so it probably won't work.
Mike McCauley, Syracuse via email
[[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
- Gun Problem - Fire Response - Violent Video Games - Wrong Comparison
Gun Problem
Editor, Times-Union:In response to Mr. Larry Hill's letter "Gun Problem" of 12/10.
Just how much "debate and compromise" will make you happy Mr. Hill? Currently, nationwide, there are more than 20,000 gun laws on the books. The ink had not dried on the Bill of Rights before the Second Amendment was under attack. The "debate" has been going on for more than 200 years.
Compromise, Mr. Hill? Sorry, but there can be no compromise. Every time we have tried to compromise with the anti-gun forces they have simply come back with more demands. You may not be proposing the outlawing of all guns but the anti-gunners certainly are. They keep denying it but that is where they're headed, none the less. As evidence I would like to present Ms. Rosie O'Donnell. As I'm sure you're aware, Ms. O'Donnell did advertising for K-Mart and is also very anti-gun. She recently resigned her position with K-Mart due to what she felt was a conflict of interest. K-Mart sells firearms, right? Well, K-Mart sells nothing but what would be considered sporting weapons. No handguns and nothing that could be classified an "assault" weapon, but, to Ms. O'Donnell and her cronies, a gun is a gun.
You feel the "real drive to prevent any compromise in gun control is money." Wrong again Mr. Hill. The only drive to prevent gun control is the Second Amendment which applies to you as well as me. Money is nothing but one tool. The First Amendment is beginning to feel some heat in these troubled times. Is that also about money?
As to your notion that guns are used more often as a means of suicide and accidental shootings than defense, once again you're wrong. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, firearms are used an estimated 2.4 million times a year in self defense and to prevent criminal acts. Prior to 1993, only some 20 states had concealed carry permits but today there is only a dozen or so that don't. Most state legislators have found that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens is a very strong deterrent to crime.
I come from a time, Mr. Hill, when firearms were far more easy to obtain than they are today but we didn't have all these problems. I think it's time we started looking for causes rather than scapegoats.
Harold Kitson, Warsaw
Fire Response
Editor, Times-Union:I have recently experienced something that I never thought I would. Our barn caught fire. I watched in amazement when Akron fire department sprang into action, then came Rochester and Mentone. They have to be some of the best! These men went into a very hot barn doing everything they could to save it for us. Putting on oxygen tanks, ripping out burning hay and spraying it with water. In came a loader and a bobcat to pull the burning hay away from the barn. These men saved our barn and to them a very heart- felt thank you.
Dave and Kris Starner, Akron
Violent Video Games
Editor, Times-Union:I was reading the letters to the editor, and came across Mr. Hill's letter concerning guns and gun violence. I am not writing to reply to his statements, I am writing to make a few statements of my own concerning his reference to violent video games and their supposed influence upon young people.
I am 19 years old, well within the prime market for video and computer games, and I own and play many. All throughout my career in both middle school and high school, and to this day, I played these games as one of my favorite hobbies. To be honest I have played, and owned, some of the most violent video and computer games on the market. I have spent many hours playing kill-or-be-killed games. Those readers who also play these games will recognize such titles as Half-Life, Quake II, and Rainbow Six, a game based on the Tom Clancy novel. All of these titles are violent in the extreme.
However, contrary to what critics and critical research have claimed should have happened to me, I have not become a thoughtless killer, or desensitized to violence and killing. According to recent media, and the rash of school violence, I would have been a danger factor to my high school during my time there. I fit the list: I played violent video games, had the ability to acquire firearms, and was not the most socially active member of my class. However, contrary to the statistics, I was an excellent student throughout my career, and even walked away on my last day of school the owner of a truck given to me for perfect attendance.
My point is that one should not be too quick to slap a label upon something. For the few who commit senseless, violent acts, motivated perhaps (and I stress perhaps) by their violent games, there are millions more who enjoy the rush of a killer game, and understand that it is simply a game and nothing more. I am happy to be one of those millions. I appreciate you, the reader, taking the time to read my thoughts.
Tim Keyes, Warsaw via email
Wrong Comparison
Editor, Times-Union:Response to Larry Hill:
Sorry buddy, your comparison of guns to drugs, has one huge flaw.
Not everyone who uses a gun does so to kill someone...but everyone who uses drugs does so to get high!
Possessing a gun is not illegal... possessing drugs is!
I agree, keep the dialogue open, put some teeth into sentencing these idiots who use a gun to commit a crime with no suspensions or plea bargains.
Make the laws absolute. No judge should be able to alter the sentence for any crime committed with a gun. We should continue to use our jury system, but after you are found guilty a judge should be mandated to go to a book and give out a mandatory sentence.
Like for instance:
Use a gun to commit a robbery... 15 years. That's it, no exceptions. Shoot someone but don't kill them... 20 years. That's it, no exceptions. Kill someone with a gun intentionally... Death Penalty. That's it, no exceptions.
Sounds too simple, so it probably won't work.
Mike McCauley, Syracuse via email
[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092