People, not guns hurt others

Dear editor:

I probably should not respond to Mr. Heinen's unsubstantiated response, but here I go anyways. (Ha! Ha!) His article, however, shows how people only hear what they want to hear.

First-off, I would like to clear my position on guns; I am by far anti-gun. It is not the gun that hurts people; obviously it is people. I do have a weapon in my house, and it is properly secured. My children have been talked to about this infamous weapon, and how people intentionally and inadvertently get hurt or die due to improper gun usage (not the gun, it's the user). I do believe that people do have rights to own weapons, but people who do not take the responsibility that weapons entail seriously, then they should not have guns (or other weapons) in their possession.

My concern is for the children in this town. As adults, we set the tone, we set the scene, and we set up the future. So when a parent does not take their position as a parent seriously, then I (and others) become concerned for the safety of the children.

I also would like to say that I find it funny that a person could hold themselves so high on a pedestal, thinking that their opinion on credibility is the only one that matters. There is not a company or organization that has not done something unethical. But since Mr. Heinen did not like my source, and refuses to support his discontentment for the source that I used, through the use of credibility or authority, I have provided statistical information from The United States Department of Justice website: http://www.usdoj.gov/archive/opd/Strategy.htm, which basically restates the same information that I presented in my original letter.

The carnage caused by guns in the United States is unique among developed nations. The rate at which children under 15 years of age are murdered with guns in our country is 16 times higher than in the 25 other wealthiest industrialized countries combined. (1) http://www.usdoj.gov/archive/opd/Strategy.htm#N_1_#N_1.

In 1998, over one-third of a million violent crimes were committed with firearms. Firearms injuries are the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, and a leading cause of injury-related death. The economic impact of this violence is staggering. The medical costs of gun-related fatalities and injuries are estimated to exceed $2 billion each year. In addition, work loss costs are estimated at $20 billion or more per year.

And another, from the U.S. Department of Justice http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/178994.pdf.

The proportion of juvenile murders that involved a juvenile offender increased from 21% in 1980 to 33% in 1994-- the peak year for all murders by juveniles. In 1980, an estimated 400 juveniles were killed by other juveniles, growing to nearly 900 in 1994; by 1997, this figure had fallen to about 500, or about 1 of every 4 juveniles murdered that year.

My original letter was to simply inform the public of the increasing incidents of child-related accidents associated with improper gun-usage. Just because this town is small does not eliminate if from catastrophe; we should not turn a blind-eye to the prospects of reality. Reality is we are just as vulnerable as any town or city. We should be teaching our children about safety.

By the way, thank you Mr. Heinen for reiterating MOST of the information that I proposed in this regard. Even though I believe he did not realize he was doing it.

Crystal M. Meador