When anyone dies unexpectedly, it is a tragedy and the younger the person the more tragic. A recent letter in the Mirror refers to the December 2012 Sandy Hook shootings, the murder of 20 children and that “something” must be done about guns and the supposedly the “evil” NRA, ignoring the fact that there are millions of responsible gun owners and that the NRA constantly promotes gun safety and responsibility.
According to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving website, in the following year 2013, “a total of 1,149 children 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those 1,149 fatalities, 200 (17 percent) occurred in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Out of those 200 deaths, 121 (61 percent) were occupants of vehicles with drivers who had blood alcohol content’s of .08 or higher and another 29 children (15 percent) were pedestrians or pedal cyclists struck by drivers with blood alcohol content’s of .08 or higher”.
I wonder if Ms. Hedwig Backman, who recently ranted about guns, feels the government should do something about the excessive deaths of children by drunk drivers, or in fact the overall death total of 1,149. Perhaps the government should “do something” and all responsible car owners should have their vehicles confiscated because there is the potential for them to drive drunk.
The Washington Post’s Dec. 3 Fact Checker Column took issue with President Obama’s repeated claims that high-profile shootings do not happen with the same frequency in other countries. For instance, at a June 19 speech before the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Obama claimed, “We are the only advanced country on Earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months.”
However, the Post turned to research examining the rate of deaths resulting from mass shootings in 11 countries, conducted by State University of New York-Oswego public justice professor Jaclyn Schildkraut and Texas State University’s H. Jaymi Elsass. The Post points out, “The United States had a lower rate of mass shooting fatalities per 100,000 people than Norway, Finland and Switzerland.”
The murderers in Paris where guns are not allowed still had plenty of weapons to carry out the carnage, both in the January and November terrorist attacks. The criminals weren’t concerned about the law. What the government should do is uphold existing laws and prosecute to the maximum those involved in gun crimes. However, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University (which tracks information about federal enforcement, staffing and spending), the Obama Justice Department has actually been prosecuting fewer gun crimes, down 15.5 percent in the last five years. Why do you suppose that is?
Regrettably, there will always be evil people with evil intent. Fortunately, there are far more honest, responsible and respectful citizens and they should not be lumped together for the sake of “doing something.” If I’m ever in a dangerous situation, I hope there are plenty of those NRA-concealed carry members right next to me.
Tom Heunisch, Federal Way
