Two columnists, gun critics missing the mark

Woody Bassett’s recent column was very anti-gun, though he said he just wanted “sensible gun limits.” He wants a law to stop mentally ill people from purchasing guns; that is already federal law. There is no evidence his other desires would have any effect on crime.

He condemns the NRA because they “own” Congress. He doesn’t mention the NRA is primarily funded by a large base of average people. He doesn’t mention the billionaires supporting the anti-gun efforts. Every Town for Gun Safety was helped by $50 million from Michael Bloomberg. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, Paul Allen, Steve Ballmer, Rupert Murdoch and George Soros, all billionaires, support anti-gun groups. He was correct that the NRA does a more effective job of lobbying because they talk about the Bill of Rights instead of their big money.

Fran Alexander quotes the Brady Campaign, a large anti-gun lobby, for her anti-gun “facts.” A better source is the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the ATF and other law enforcement agencies. Then perhaps we could have discussions about real problems. As an example, a Bureau of Justice Statistics report from November 2001 states convicted criminals who used a gun in a crime got them at a gun show 0.7 percent of the time. Does that sound like gun show sales are the problem?

Federal law enforcement agencies publish a wealth of information on crime and any weapons used, but very few anti-gun groups rely on objective data. Mostly, they tell the same tired stories, such as calling gun show sales without background checks a huge problem. A more accurate story is available in federal reports that show who criminals and crime victims are by age, race, location, etc. A very small portion of America accounts for a very large proportion of violent crime. Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, D.C. has the lowest rate of gun ownership and the highest rate of gun murders per 100,000 inhabitants. That could make an interesting topic of conversation instead of talking about how to make it more difficult for sportsmen to buy and transport guns.

Two columns so close together make me wonder if this newspaper is anti-Second Amendment. Most anti-gun groups state they want sensible laws passed. They never mention the Supreme Court has clearly stated the Second Amendment precludes laws from making gun ownership illegal; they want to ease into that position. This newspaper and all freedom-loving people should fully support the Second Amendment. The Bill of Rights reflects the core values of America and an attack on any one of these rights forms a basis for attacking every right. America will continue to change, but we should never abandon our core values, put into the Bill of Rights by a better group of leaders than we have today.

A failure to discuss real issues is holding America back from finding answers to gun violence and many other serious problems. We will not solve problems until we work at identifying their true causes. ROBERT PFLAGER Bella Vista