Opinions vary on topic of gun control

12/7/2012

My employer buys ink by the barrel, which provides a wide forum but does not necessarily make my opinion more worthwhile than any other. So when I used a sports-related current event to discuss the hot-button issue of guns in our society on Wednesday I suspected I’d be sharing that ink with some of you today.

Excellent column. Thanks for making your comments. I’m sure that you will receive vitriol. — John.

Let’s call it dissent, and considerable, some edited for brevity.

Your article was just plain stupid. I would like to point out the Second Amendment was consciously inserted into our Bill of Rights as a safeguard and defense not only of life but as a defense against a tyrannical government. You are so very defensive of the First Amendment rights of free speech while oh, so eager to diminish, if not eliminate, the amendment that so closely follows the first in the founders’ order of priority. — Edward.

Yes, we could use a national discussion. But it should center on the lost concept of accepting personal responsibility for one’s own actions, not on inanimate objects. — Jerry.

Your article on gun control is the most terrible news item I’ve read in a while. Not only did you state no facts on murder or gun control rates, you also filled the whole thing with your opinion… I think gun laws are too strict. I’m thinking a person can go through the proper training [and] should be allowed the same gun rights our police forces are given. — Jake.

Bullets come out of these inanimate objects, Jerry. And Jake, it was a column, not a news item. That’s why my pretty picture is up on top.

It’s all my opinion. As for yours, wow.

[Any] society in the history of man that has given up rights to solve a social problem, no matter how bad it was, that society no longer exists. You want to solve this, then correct domestic violence, redevelop the family core, [and] teach right and wrong. Yes, we are a nation of free speech and, yes, you can say what you feel is morally right. The problem is … you are a sports columnist. — Jim.

No one can argue with your suggested solutions, Jim. For those uncomfortable with a sports writer commenting on such a topic, I’d say this: How about those Browns?

Maybe you should stick to stuff you know more about. I get enough left wing political crap from your editorial page. I don’t need more of it from the sports page. — Barry.

Crap? That’s harsh. I’m a registered Republican. There are among us independent thinkers, although perhaps few in Congress.

Obesity kills hundreds of thousands per year. Ban the fork? Millions of gun owners did NOT kill anyone today. — Beau.

Ban the knife, maybe, but never the fork. Now, speaking for the other side:

I am an outspoken person who is not afraid to give my opinion on just about anything, except guns/gun control. I try to stay positive and hope and pray that one day our country will get it. After reading the column, I am inspired to speak my opinion when it would be easier to just shut up. — Mary.

I do not know a single soul who goes game hunting with a hand gun or assault rifle. Those weapons are almost exclusively used to kill people. — Chris.

Your commentary is one of the most succinct and enlightening pieces I have had the joy to read. — Rex.

So many more, but that seems like a nice self-serving one to end on.

Contact Blade sports columnist Dave Hackenberg at: dhack@theblade.com or 419-724-6398.