LETTER: Firearm column used bad logic

To the editor:

A response to the piece written by Richard Winters titled “Don’t Restrict Firearms Freedoms”:   

People often like to focus on a very narrow view of the 2nd Amendment regarding what it provides for and what it does not. The amendment itself reads “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” I wish to point out that it says a “well regulated militia,” not a free-for-all mob. If we wish to honor the spirit of the Constitution we ought not nitpick the portions of sentences with which we most agree.

More importantly however, I am deeply troubled by the lack of reason when constructing the comparison between rape and homosexuality as being equivalent as a cause of violent crime (see “Will and Grace”). I suggest doing research about the crime rates in religiously oppressive countries if you wish to understand crime as function of “virtuosity” portrayed in media. When attending a university, think like you are attending a university, i.e. make comparisons based on logic. I suggest taking a philosophy class in a topic other than the philosophy of religion (which would be interesting but unhelpful).

I would also like to point to the author’s misappropriation or rather the obtuse interpretation of crime statistics as an authoritative measure of a society’s success. There are many methodological considerations which must be made when using statistics, especially crime statistics (speak with Professor Chris Corcoran if this is confusing to you); not all statistics are created equally and they must be wielded carefully. Consider that Cache Valley has the same level of crime as the town in Georgia, yet we aren’t forced to own guns, so what do we suggest explains this? Whatever the answer may be, I suggest being more careful about which you speak especially when you are ignorant but feign knowledge. Keep in mind the famous quote attributed to President Abraham Lincoln, “It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.”

Warner Almquist