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Opinion
The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
News / Opinion / Letters to the Editor

Letter: Gun debate needs dose of realism

The Columbian
Published: January 28, 2013, 4:00pm

Let’s face it. This whole gun debate is not about the Second Amendment.

It’s about toys. It’s about boys and their toys. It’s about some boys having so much fun with their toys that they refuse to acknowledge the damage they do to the environment and the society they live in. It’s about masking this negative side of their fun with a contrived paranoia concerning self protection and the loss of individual rights.

And it’s about a gun industry that actively feeds this paranoia. Why? Because as Americans kill fewer animals, the gun makers need other ways to increase sales. Their marketing plan is simple: Scare a few crazies into arming up with assault rifles, and you start a self-defense feeding frenzy that eventually leads to even the noncrazies buying guns. And when this paranoia leads to innocent deaths, sales really spike. They win, we lose.

Boys, it’s time to grow up. There must be other ways to have fun besides shooting multiple holes in things. And let’s be honest, no group or government is going to confiscate your, or my, shotgun, hunting rifle or concealed-carry right; it’s the military-style, rapid-fire, people-killers that need to go.

Ron Pulliam

Ridgefield

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