Research done by non-governmental entities has revealed that states with stronger gun laws have fewer gun deaths. So maybe there is more hope state by state, writes Dottie Lamm. (Getty Images file)
Re: “Citizens must take reins on gun control,” Nov. 8 Dottie Lamm column.
A low-level hysteria threads through Dottie Lamm’s op-ed with no new ground covered or solutions suggested. When she says, “Maybe citizen initiatives are the way to go,” she ignores the citizen initiative that spanked two progressive Colorado Democrats and sent them home through recall, not to mention the third who ran away, tail between her legs, rather than face a recall of her own.
The problem better addressed is why there is no common ground here. The all-or-nothing approach of the gun-control lobby would be an excellent place to start. Their position that a totally disarmed public is a docile public raises the hackles on every legitimate gun owner. Criminals are not going to give up their guns because our president creates another “executive action.” The NRA and other gun-rights groups react to these assaults and are branded reactionary as a result.
It will take more than a rehash of old, tired Democratic talking points to effect change. It will take trust and new ideas to get us off this stalemate.
Mike Dixon, Longmont
This letter was published in the Nov. 15 edition.Regardless of where one stands on gun control, or “gun safety measures,” it does no good to cite bad statistics. Dottie Lamm somehow confuses shootings with murders. Not all shootings are fatal, and therefore are not murders. She incorrectly states that “mass murders … have increased to an average of more than one a day” in the United States. This is incorrect. Depending on the source, and apparently hers is The Washington Post, there may be an average of one mass shooting each day. But there certainly is not an average of one mass murder each day.
James F. Buhl, Elizabeth
This letter was published in the Nov. 15 edition.
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