Gun Control, Gun Shows
Steven Schilling’s June 9 letter regarding a national plebiscite on handgun ownership has possibilities. We would need a few more conditions, however. The media should be prohibited from inflammatory advocacy (including news “slanting”) without carrying equal coverage for expert opposing views. The media should report about the successes of states that permit good people to carry concealed firearms to protect themselves and the innocents around them. We would need to have no inflammatory television commercials funded by the anti-self-defense lobby and none in newspapers either.
People would need to read about the issues in books supporting both sides of the issues rather than just in their “news” papers. And it would really be great if a person were not allowed to vote without doing the study deserved by any issue so important.
JERRY PHILLIPS
Ventura
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Headline: “2 Teenage Girls Shot to Death While Walking to High School” (June 9). Subhead: “Violence: Police say man on foot killed the cousins. The ex-boyfriend of one may be a suspect.”
The question “Is this a private fight or can anyone join in?” epitomizes a joyous attitude toward physical violence. Monday night football is violent, and I love it!
The tragic killings in my city and my country are not “violence.” They are cold-blooded, cowardly, vicious murders, and they will go on until we wake up and ban ammunition and firearms, like any other civilized country.
JAMES ASHLEY SHEA
Topanga
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Earlier this month, I attended a gun show at Anaheim Stadium. I am a recent transplant from Connecticut, and while having attended shows there in the past, I had never been to one in a more urbanized area. What I expected to see was a bunch of “gangbangers” trying to buy small “junk guns” without identification, taking advantage of the “lax” restrictions that have been reported by the media. These are the same forums that President Clinton labeled “arms bazaars” for illegal guns.
What I actually witnessed was more shocking. I saw well-behaved, nicely dressed men and women exercising their rights and enjoying their passion for firearms in the middle of the second-largest urban area in the country. People chatted with each other about scopes and skeet shooting, talked about self-defense and different types of gun cases. Many bought ammunition and accessories; some left with unworkable antiques. I bought a shotgun and was subjected to a barrage of paperwork and background checks. Now I am in the 10-day waiting period required for gun purchases.
GLENN COOPER
Irvine