In regards to his recent response to my letter to the editor, I understand letter writer Bruce Peterson perfectly. The Second Amendment supersedes the right to life.
Mr. Peterson states, "Gun ownership was much more prevalent when I was a kid." Every source I have seen indicates the number of guns in the United States is at an all time high. In 1950 there were 54 million. In 1970 there were 104 million. In 2023 there are 393 million. Not really close.
Gun manufacturers are producing an AR-15 for adolescents, cleverly called the JR-15. It will be produced in many different bright colors that appeal to junior mass shooters.
The use of guns for self-defense is a very ambiguous statistic. There are no solid facts on how often that occurs. Total live emergency room admittance for gunshot wounds from 2006 to 2014 shows an average of 78,324 per year. There is no statistic for how many of those wounds were inflicted by a gun owner in self-defense. In 2010, gun violence costs were about $174 billion in health care costs, criminal justice cases and decreased quality of life.
The courts will be the ultimate arbiters of the facts regarding Donald Trump. I have faith in the courts to sort him out. Does Mr. Peterson? In the face of all the evidence, the “lunatic” right wing (FOX News' owner Rupert Murdoch's adjective) still denies that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. They will never relent even if that means destroying our democracy.
I assure Mr. Peterson I will not be moving to Seattle. I have lived in Washington state all my 73-plus years and I have always considered all of the state my home. The extremist conservatives of Lewis County believe they have carved out their own precious little world and it belongs only to them, but the area is changing.
Get used to the gun violence. It is here to stay and will get worse because gun manufacturers operate with only one motive: profit.
Until social pressure reaches the disapproval level of anti-smoking, mass shootings, suicides and individual shootings will just be routine, everyday mayhem. Right wing extremists will not relent even if it brings the total rending of our social fabric.
And no, gun violence does not occur because parents do not spank their children or kids do not pray in school. I went to grade school in the 1950s and high school in the 1960s in a rural area of Washington. We never said one prayer in school. It is a violation of the Constitution.
Marty Ansley
Cinebar
