From my perspective, guns and gun ownership are a fact we’re all going to have to live with whether we like it or not.
That said, I am unwilling to abide non sequitur comparisons between guns and other unpleasant ways to die (Aug. 26 letter, “Doctors, cars kill more than guns.”)
The last place I want to find myself is in a hospital, but I am comforted in knowing that the work doctors and nurses do may save my life. There’s always a chance I might not leave the hospital alive. Likewise, I would not relish being killed in an auto accident, but I need to leave my home in order to accomplish things like going to work, running errands, indulging in recreation, etc. Driving or riding a car is a part of our lives in this culture.
Where the letter writer hit the target was the comparison to alcohol-related deaths. Nobody has to drink, but the alcoholic will manufacture excuses to convince himself that drinking alcohol is OK to the point of drinking any amount, anytime, anywhere, for any reason, to the point of death. The obsession and compulsion to drink will override all reason, logic, and the will to live.
The idea that more people owning more guns, carrying them everywhere, at all times, will make us all safer, has, in my opinion, a direct corollary in the unfortunate and likewise lethal mindset of the alcoholic. It has transcended the intention of the Founding Fathers to become a national psychosis.
I choose not to drink alcohol. And hopefully I won’t wind up in the hospital because of a gunshot wound inflicted by some Second Amendment wacko trying to be the next hero trending on social media. Holster your six-shooter, Wyatt.
Andy Dockhorn
Everett
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.