4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ MARCH 10, 2018
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
USPS# 497-660
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L ETTERS
LETTERS
D ISREGARD FOR LIFE IS TRUE
PROBLEM , NOT GUNS
I agree with Rev. Barrett in his
recent Guest Viewpoint (“Worshiping
Guns Contradicts Christian Ideals,”
March 3) that there will most likely be
more tragic incidents like the
Parkland shootings.
However, I have an issue with how
Rev. Barrett claims that we as a nation
are infatuated with gun culture and
seem to “worship guns.”
Worship means the feeling or
expression of reverence and adoration
for a deity. I do not sit around and
kiss our gun, love it or hang it on the
wall so I can gaze at it all day. I’ve
shot guns a few times in my life just to
be familiar with them and I’m married
to a retired law enforcement officer;
and yes, he’s in the NRA.
Some people want guns accessible
in their own homes in case of burgla-
ry-type situations. Honestly, I feel like
I would have more success fending off
a burglar with a frying pan than using
guns because of how inaccessible in
some would have us keep them.
My own personal stance on the
Second Amendment is that not every-
one should have a gun, but that in gen-
eral people should be free to own one.
To me, guns are kind of like cars: I
want to be able to operate them safely
but I don’t care to learn everything
about them.
I researched “sales of assault rifle
soaring after Parkland shooting” and
some states, gun stocks and gun sales
did soar, but there were also compa-
nies like Walmart and Dick’s Sporting
Goods that banned gun sales in their
stores to anyone under the age of 21.
I also discovered that the sale of
bulletproof doors and windows are
booming. At the opposite end of the
spectrum, Pennsylvania claimed to
have a drop in gun sales after the
Parkland shooting.
Regarding Rev. Barrett’s statement
“…school shootings have become an
almost
daily
occurrence,” I
researched this information and found
verifying these statistics to be prob-
lematic since some shootings included
were near schools but not on the prop-
erty.
It’s clear that there are different
standards depending on the agency or
organization providing the informa-
tion.
As for the raffle at the Boys & Girls
Club, so what? It was for a semi-
automatic pistol, not an assault rifle.
My take from that comment was the
reverend would advocate all semi-
automatic pistols be banned, or ban-
ning guns from use by all minors.
Near the end of his viewpoint, the
reverend said, “… Moral outrage is
necessary to enact sensible legislation
once and for all.”
But sensible to who?
While guns may be the third-lead-
ing cause of death among children
under 19, motor-vehicle accidents is
the leading cause of death among that
age group. And, according to the
National Safety Council in 2017,
about a half million people were
injured or killed in traffic accidents
attributed to texting and driving, with
69 percent of teen drivers admit using
their cell phones while driving.
Should we raise the age require-
ments for driving and cell phone
usage? There are already numerous
“sensible” cell phone laws in place
and the problems persist. But no one
is talking about taking cell phones
away.
Will enacting more gun control and
background checks laws in the legis-
lature solve anything?
I don’t think so.
Not until we get to the root of the
problem, which is the disregard for
the sanctity of life for some people in
our country.
In summary: the right to bear arms
can be abused but that is not a reason
to take away that Constitutional right.
In order to prevent all crimes, people
would have to live in cages.
—Virginia Reynolds
Florence
when a red flag is raised and no one
responds. In the past, school shootings
have occurred in part with the confi-
dentiality between patient and doc-
tors/psychiatrists and school psycolo-
gists as a safeguard.
Reporting deviant behavior should
be made a law. There is also a problem
in that students using social media do
not report things they see online and
should be educated to do so.
Protecting our students should be
on the forefront of our daily agenda.
As for guns, the old adage of the
NRA is “that guns do not kill people,
people kill people.” When was the last
time you heard of a fist fight in a
school killing anyone, or of a drive-by
stabbing?
Semi-automatic weapons like the
AR-15 and AK-47 can fire rounds as
fast as a person can pull the trigger,
which is about 600 rounds per minute;
for a fully automatic weapon with a
bump stock, it would be closer to
1,200 rounds per minute.
I have a 9-mm pistol that has a clip
of nine rounds. I can fire the nine
rounds in about 4 1⁄2 seconds, pulling
the trigger twice in one second.
Do the math and you’ll agree we
need to get rid of all assault weapons.
One last comment: Having teach-
ers carrying concealed weapons is
ludicrous. They would not be trained
on how to react to a crisis.
In addition, if a first responder
going into an active shooting situation
saw an individual with a gun — even
a teacher — his or her first reaction
would be to shoot and answer ques-
tions later.
—Win Jolley
Florence
D O THE MATH ON
The First
GUN CONTROL
Regarding the Guest Viewpoint
“NRA Is Part of Solution, Not
Problem” by David Eckhardt (March
3), I just want to make a few com-
ments.
I do think there was a major failure
by the FBI and local law enforcement
agencies in the Stoneman Douglas
High School shooting that could have
prevented the death and injury of chil-
dren and teachers.
This has been an ongoing problem
Amendment
C
ongress shall make no law
respecting an establishment
of religion or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press,
or the right of the people peace-
ably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of
grievances.
TO THE
P OLICY
E DITOR
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Send letters to:
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WHERE TO WRITE
Pres. Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments:
202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Gov. Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, Ore. 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line:
503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office
Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office
Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753/FAX: 202-
228-3997
541-465-6750
www.merkley.senate.gov
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio
( 4 th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416
541-269-2609
541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan
( Dist. 5 )
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@
oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep. Caddy
McKeown
( Dist. 9 )
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email: rep.caddymckeown
@state.or.us
West Lane County
Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email:
Jay.Bozievich@
co.lane.or.us