Continuing the gun debate

Not just a matter of school safety

As tragic as it is to endure our schoolchildren being slaughtered and to watch the grief of survivors and families, suggestions on improving school safety simply sidestep the point. Innocent people have been slaughtered in churches, at concerts, at malls and airports, in movie theaters, nightclubs, and restaurants. Various suggestions for heightening school security have some merit, but those do nothing to solve our national tragedy.

The United States is not alone in having citizens who have various degrees of mental illness, including the most severe and potentially dangerous types. The United States stands alone among all developed countries in the instances and victims of mass shootings. The contrast between our country and others is staggering. There is but one common factor that binds all these American tragedies together, and that is the kind and number of weapons used in the attacks.

It is shameful to hear an NRA spokesman declare that those who wish to reasonably discuss bans on military-style assault weapons wish to repeal the Second Amendment. That is, quite simply, an untruth, designed to frighten Americans into believing that their liberties are being threatened. Remember the issue of seat belt laws from decades ago? There were many opponents who alleged that a seat belt law was a threat to their personal liberty. However, lawmakers had courage, and the mandated use of seat belts has saved countless lives over decades. We have such an opportunity now.

This issue is too critical to allow it to become just another victim of falsehoods, inaction and paralysis. —Jeanne Southwood, Bigfork

A few points in defense of guns

I would like to make these comments in regards to Todd Cardin’s letter to the editor about guns. I would like to point out some of the following items.

The .223 caliber used in most “so called” assault rifles was designed by the military to do two things, number one, provide the soldier with a far larger quantity ammo that could be carried by each soldier and, number two, an enemy shot with a small caliber round is hoped to be wounded but not killed. They know that it takes at least three people to take care of one wounded soldier. Therefore, there would be fewer men shooting at them. The small .223 caliber bullets weigh about 50 grains. Now ask any grizzly bear hunter if he would replace his large-caliber gun for a small-caliber bullet going at any speed and you would get no takers. The reason is that the .223 caliber is inadequate as a killer of large things like people or bears.

So why do killers pick this caliber? First, they probably don’t know much about ballistics. Second, most assault type weapons sold in gun shops are in .223 caliber. Then you might ask why do people buy a .223 caliber weapon? By the way, it is one of the very best calibers for shooting gophers, prairie dogs, coyotes, fox and most other varmints. Next, you can shoot all day at targets and not suffer from recoil or noise. Lastly, it is very economical to purchase or reload.

Many people are ranting about magazine capacity, bump stocks, etc. Now tell me this, if you pass laws banning these items or even one, would shooters be going to obey those laws? Only law- abiding citizens would obey. Next, if they are banned, I can just see the Mexican bad guys rubbing their hands together about all the money they could make smuggling guns across the border. We can’t even slow down the flood of illegals coming across, so how would you stop guns? I know, you would build a 20-foot high concrete wall and bury the lower end at least 20 feet. Now hire thousands of Border Patrol to keep them from scaling the wall. Also we would need about a 100—boat navy patrolling the gulf and Pacific Ocean to stop them from using boats. Now we would need a huge air force to patrol the skies. Whoops! I forgot we would also need more than this along the Canadian border as it is longer and more remote.

Lastly explain to me why it is as a child, I carried my .22 rifle to school so I could shoot rabbits on the way home. Then in high school, we had an underground rifle range in the basement, unlocked target rifles and ammo easily accessible so that we could go down and practice with no supervision. If I had a disagreement with another student, we settled it after school with fists and I never ever heard of any students using a weapon. Why was this? Could it possibly be Hollywood and what they have done to our children’s minds? —Richard J. Reed, Kalispell

Arming teachers? Trump’s bad idea

Congratulations to the Douglas High School students in Florida and throughout the U.S. who have the courage to stand up against a government that will not take action to protect them and other citizens from the gun epidemic and violence in our country.

By some accounts, we have had 18 school shootings in the U.S. during the first two months of 2018. Unfortunately the current administration and many in Congress prefer to treat the symptom and not the central cause. The cause is obvious, easy access to guns as well as mental health issues. Donald Trump revealed his true, out-of-touch, ignorance during his meeting on Feb. 21 with students from Douglas High School and other parents. His solution to the nationwide murder of students and teachers in schools is to arm teachers. He overlooks the mass killings that have taken place in churches movie theaters and other public places by domestic terrorists with assault-type weapons.

We have 5 percent of the world population and 31 percent of the mass shootings. The suggestion to arm teachers and others in schools is so absurd that it is difficult to comprehend. I have two first-hand and personal experiences that prompted me to be critical of Trump’s position on gun control. First I was a high school teacher and principal for 30 years in our public schools. Had I been asked or ordered to carry a handgun in the classroom or elsewhere on the school grounds to protect our students from a shooter with an AR-15, it would have been my last day in education. Never in my 30 years in education could I have imagined the president of the United States of America would suggest that teachers carry guns in the classroom. What in the world has happened to the safe American schools i knew back then?

Secondly, I served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, infantry heavy weapons and Army Veterinary Corps. In the infantry I learned to fire and safely handle numerous weapons of war from .45-caliber handguns to .50-caliber machine guns. I learned the dangers of putting semi-automatic and automatic weapons in the hands of poorly trained personnel.

Trump has never attended a public school; therefore he has no concept or appreciation for the efforts of excellent teachers and students. He never served in the U.S. military and avoided the draft during the Vietnam war. He has no concept of what life is like for the less fortunate and middle class citizens that go to work every day hoping their children are safe at school. His supporters (to name two, Steve Daines and Greg Gianforte) must be held accountable for their position on gun control. Their silence on the issue of mass shooting is deafening. It appears that the murder of our children, high school students and adults is not enough to prompt legislation; therefore we must go to the polls and vote our conscience. —Jerry Reckin, Kalispell

Keep debate civil

I’m watching angry comments fly back and forth on social media as people in Montana try to make sense of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. I’d like to ask people in the Flathead Valley for one thing: Let’s be decent to each other.

Teachers and students are feeling frightened and helpless after this recent attack and the dozens of bomb and shooting threats that have been called in to Montana schools. While we may not all agree on the best course of action to end this terrorism, let’s choose good manners.

Being a good neighbor isn’t just the way we do things in Montana, it’s the best way to keep people from dividing our communities. As we found out in 2017 when white supremacists attacked Whitefish, along with cyber-terrorist threats that closed schools in the entire valley, there are always people looking to make us afraid. They are intentionally seeking out community disagreements so they can jump in and find ways to stir up suspicion and anger. These chaos-makers actually enjoy seeing people in strong communities turn against each other.

The best way to defend ourselves against this outside influence is to remember that we all live, work, and play here together. We don’t have to agree on everything — what community does? But we can be civil.

We’re all tired of the toxic political climate. Let’s choose to listen and understand without insulting each other. —Cherilyn DeVries, Kalispell

Can we consider common sense?

Another school shooting, what a surprise. As usual, to the self-proclaimed liberal “progressives,” the gun, the Second Amendment and the NRA are to blame. They are willing to settle for nothing less than the abolition of all three, convinced that then and only then, can they create the safe utopian society that America is capable of becoming under their wise and enlightened leadership.

To we conservatives, and yes, NRA members, the Second Amendment is there for a reason and should not and legally cannot be easily abandoned. If the history of the 20th century teaches us anything, it is the necessity of an armed populace to prevent those on both the far political left and far political right from being able to use the power of government to create the safe utopian societies that both envision. In that century, and to the horror of millions, this was a hard learned lesson!

So, how do we address the real issue outside the fog of politics — protecting our schools and children from those that would do them harm? Let’s talk about a good first start.

According to the Flathead County Sheriffs Of?ce, there are approximately 3,000 concealed-carry permit holders in this county alone. Even with all those private citizens walking around with concealed ?rearms, I think most people, including those in local law enforcement, would rightly consider the Flathead to be a fairly safe place. Why would our schools be any less safe if a school teacher or administrator under the same requirements were permitted to be armed in the classroom? Given the fact that no doubt some of these teachers are ex-combat veterans that have literally “been there and done that,” the present system requiring them to leave their ?rearms at home makes no sense and does nothing to protect themselves or their students. This is something state government, the teachers’ unions and parents would be wise to consider.

Beyond that, the NRA has offered to initiate nationwide and at its own expense, an advanced weapons training program for teachers that would be allowed to be armed in the classroom.

We can have the endless gun-control debate later. For now we need to quit the politicking and start implementing real common-sense solutions like these, solutions that with the help of Montana’s governor and state government can be implemented almost immediately and at little if any cost. If we are not capable of doing that, the partisan political dialog will drag on to no avail, while our children continue to die at the hands of mad men in these self-proclaimed, feel-good, “Gun Free Zones”! —Russell Crowder, Marion