I’ve been reading with amusement the sparkling repartee between Dr. Feeman and his numerous
detractors; and while I’m not qualified to comment on his non-peer reviewed "studies,"I will take
issue with some of his pronouncements on the issue of firearms. First he asserts that if our elected
officials pass a stand-your-ground law, the streets will run red with blood. This inspite of the fact that
states with this type of law have experienced no major bloodbaths to date. They have, however, experienced a
drop in violent crime.Dr. Feeman’s asserts that, "many of the killers of our citizens are apparently
stable people who, for one reason or another, just snap and if they have a gun in their hands will shoot
someone…" This claim is particularly revealing. To a gun-ban fanatic, a firearm is not an inanimate
object, but rather a living, breathing force of evil.To hear them tell it, the violent criminal is just a
poor schmuck who is strolling along, minding his own business, when a gun jumps out of the bushes, grabs him
by the throat, and shouts, "Use me! Use me!" The criminal, unable to think for himself and
powerless to resist, uses the gun; therefore the gun, not the criminal, is the problem. Get rid of guns and
the criminal will be a model citizen.Of course no discussion of gun control would be complete without some
input from V.N. Krishnan. Judging from his letters, Mr. Krishnan believes the solution to violent crime is
to gather the criminals around a campfire and have them sing Kumbaya.The fact is, firearms in America are
used four times more often to prevent crimes than to commit them; so on balance, they are a net benefit to
society. If Feeman and V.N. find the situation intolerable, I suggest they pool their resources and build
themselves a bunker. Then they can hunker in their bunker until such time as the 2nd Amendment is repealed.
They’d better take plenty of provisions though; it could be a long wait.Doyle H. PhillipsJerry City