Pubdate: Thu, 05 Jul 2012
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: James E. Gierach

TO STOP KILLINGS, TAKE PROFIT OUT OF GUNS

Letters to the Editor July 5, 2012

Yes, gun control is no joke [Chicago Sun-Times, editorial, July 3],
with Chicago kids dropping like flies in some city neighborhoods
especially on weekends. Exhibit A last weekend: Nine people shot dead
and 22 wounded.

But with an estimated 200 million guns in private hands, the United
States needs to take the profit out of drugs more than guns out of the
hands of citizens to stop the killing. And selling gun-buyback
programs as a violence solution is like selling lead life preservers
to the drowning.

Buying back a handful of guns to stop the violence pales in the face
of facts like Smith & Wesson sales and profits jumping in the fourth
quarter on strong demand for guns, with the stock up 58 percent on
improving gun sales.

Drug-policy reform that takes the profit out of drugs takes away the
business reason that kids are armed and need guns in the first place.
Without a business reason to shoot, fewer guns will be found in the
hands of kids.

James E. Gierach,

Palos Park
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