Gun debate one of picking statistics that fit

Dear editor:

Ms. Meador answered my letter and I'm glad she did. She makes it clear where she stands.

Her opinion of me doesn't matter. What matters is her opinion of gun control and gun use in this country; where she gets her statistics and how she utilizes them. Statistics are a game and can be made to show anything I want them to.

My disappointment in Ms. Meador is her ability to comprehend current dates vs. obsolete dates. She is quoting statistics from 1998. Ms. Meador, that is 10 years ago. The statistics she forgot to quote are how many times a year a gun prevents a crime from happening. I think that is about 2.5 million times a year in the U.S. If you divide that by 365 you get 6,849 times a day. However, that statistic doesn't get quoted very often.

I wonder how much money that saves us? Ms. Meador also quotes statistics from 1980, that is about 28 years old. All of her statistics are extremely old. That is what most anti-gun, Brady left-wing liberals do. They pick and choose statistics to fit their needs.

I must admit I would do the same thing if it supported my cause. I think Ms. Meador could better utilize her time if she were concerned about the number of children killed each year on the highways. She could also count the number children deaths by drowning each year. Maybe she could count the number of children killed and disabled by drugs and alcohol each year. I can assure you the numbers are far larger.

My point is we don't live in a perfect society.

Ms. Meador's quote "infamous weapon" caught my attention. I don't allow "infamous" things in my house.

In closing, Ms. Meador, I knew exactly what I was doing in my letter. I was not trying to hurt your feelings or in any way denigrate you. If you feel I was I do apologize for that. My purpose was to get you to look deeper for your information before you quote it.

Larry Heinen