Fears of Wild West Unfounded
Originally published on this
website August 16, 2001
From: Robert N Lyman rlyman@u.washington.edu
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 10:02:43 -0700 (PDT)
To: postedits@cincypost.com
Subject: "Chasing the wrong answer"
Your recent editorial opposing concealed-carry
legislation was shocking in its ignorance and bigotry. You are journalists. You
are bound by moral obligation to speak the truth. This means more for
journalists than for others; you are obliged by your profession not merely to
avoid knowingly printing falsehoods, but also to carefully and thoroughly check
the facts to avoid unknowingly printing falsehoods. For a journalist to make an
error is serious business.
In editorializing against the right of ordinary
citizens to defend themselves from criminals, you repeat the tired old argument
that "more guns on the street" will somehow lead to more crime. You
make the bigoted assumption that anyone who wishes to protect his or her life
and family must be a "bozo" who is willing to kill over a parking
space. This is offensive in the extreme. Would you dare characterize blacks or
Jews as "bozos" unable to control their emotions, just waiting for the
chance to attack others? Why do you portray lawful gun owners this way?
If the problem is really too many handguns on
the street, why not disarm the police? After all, that would reduce the number
of guns out there. But wait--the police use their guns for good, for the
protection of citizens, so those guns must be OK. I have news for you: the
holders of concealed weapon permits use their guns for exactly the same purpose.
In fact, lawful citizens are far LESS likely to make the kind of error that the
police made in your city, killing unarmed men and sparking destructive riots.
Your fears of "wild west" mayhem in
the street have not been realized in the 33 other states with shall-issue laws.
Gun permittees have proven time and again to be the most law-abiding, decent
people in all of society. Criminals who carry guns of course do not worry about
legal details. Your failure to uncover this obvious truth indicates you have
done zero research, and speaks very, very poorly of both your journalistic
integrity and your critical thinking skills.
Frankly, I now have reason to doubt just about
everything you say. If you can't be bothered to check the facts, why should
anyone believe you?
Robert Lyman
Seattle, WA
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