Letter to the editor: Some gun bill provisions deserve to be repealed

Middletown Journal
01.17.04

Sour grapes. That’s what seeps out of the sardonic editorial (“Gun bill provisions will be next target”) in the Jan. 10 Journal.

The most ludicrous of these “targeted provisions” in Ohio’s new concealed carry law is this one: Reporters are allowed to learn the names of permit-holders. Now why would our beloved newspaper object to this provision being removed from the bill? Reporters are, by definition, notorious blabbermouths, so I can’t wait for this provision to be struck.

Then there’s that provision about keeping guns out of day-care centers and schools. There are credible studies indicating that children who are routinely deposited in day care centers at an early age (this includes my granddaughter) become maladjusted; they are more aggressive than are normal children, and tend to sass their grandparents. Should the “dump them at day care” trend continue, soon the teachers will need guns for their own protection.

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How about this one? No guns in church. Now, if someone wants to shoot you, they’ll follow you to church and get you there. It’s safer that way, and I’ve seen it happen before.

In an attempt to imitate the national media, The Journal dehumanizes the issue by referring to millions of ordinary gun owners as that “powerful gun lobby.” Finally, The Journal makes a startling assertion: “ we know that this law is intended to encourage more gun sales.” Wow! Journal, tell us more! (Without revealing your sources, of course.)

The Journal’s editorial ends in a crescendo of sarcasm, saying they hope lawmakers don’t forget to lift the restriction on carrying firearms in state office buildings. Ask yourself these questions: Why do state officials (especially judges) feel themselves in any more danger than the friendly folks down at Wal-Mart? Have they been ripping us off? Is that why they barricade themselves behind metal detectors and a phalanx of armed guards? The terrorists sure as hell aren’t interested in them, that’s for certain.

As a species, we can survive without antibiotics that target dread diseases, but we wouldn’t like it. We can also survive without firearms but we wouldn’t like that either. We can even survive without the Constitution. It all depends on how much you value your freedom.

As for now, I find myself in a country where both the government and the media flout the Constitution. They want to confiscate all the guns, and I need written permission from a college graduate before I can take a simple pill.

Sim Evans
Miamisburg