Your Turn: OZY Readers Discuss Guns in America

Instead of restricting gun use, some state officials [in Ohio] are advocating for teachers to "open carry" in schools. The right to own a gun is so much a part of these officials’ identity that they don’t understand that not all teachers would want to be armed, nor would all kids feel comfortable learning in a classroom with an armed teacher. As a teacher, I don't need additional mandated responsibilities. And teachers would be pressured to carry guns: Think about a situation in an elementary school where three second grade teachers are willing to be armed but two other teachers don't feel comfortable. Are three out of five teachers enough of a deterrent? Will parents request their children attend an armed classroom (or an unarmed classroom)? The Onion is correct that the Second Amendment is sacred, and America has to live with the consequences.

Carrie B., Columbus, Ohio

Our Congress is more interested in getting votes than in saving schoolchildren’s lives.

Kathy P., Albuquerque, New Mexico

My only hope to stop this awful craziness is for people to understand that voting for Democrats seems to be the only way to change gun laws. Why should anyone who isn’t fighting in a war zone be able to buy these military guns, let alone an 18-year-old?

Pat G.-C.

More rules won’t stop criminals from getting guns. The legal gun owners are not the problem. The punishments need to be stiffer for those who commit crimes.

Ruthann P.

Why is no one asking: Why are there no studies? Why no thorough research? If we feel we are “better” than senseless gun violence, WHY ARE WE NOT SMARTER ABOUT IT?

James E., Burbank, California

Editor’s Note: After almost a quarter-century of succumbing to pressure to avoid the subject, in late 2019 Congress allocated $25 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health to undertake a series of studies on gun violence. In a recent interview, Harvard health policy professor David Hemenway indicated this was a modest cause for hope. “As more studies come out, it will be harder for the gun lobby in the same way it was harder for the cigarette companies to make false claims about cigarettes,” he said.

I suggest that we revise or update the National Firearms Act to include military-style assault weapons. The law was enacted in 1934 with support from the National Rifle Association — imagine that! The law is already there. Let’s use it. I am a veteran, a lifelong (currently disgusted) Republican and a member of the NRA. I have tried for years to get the attention of my congressional delegation. Apparently they have more important issues to address (like getting reelected). If I sound frustrated, I am — along with most of the rest of this country.

Joe C., Loxley, Alabama

Editor’s Note: After submitting this letter, Joe wrote to tell us that he received a call back — for the first time — from his congressperson’s office. They want to discuss his idea.

Up the price on bullets to $500 a piece. Number them and have the buyer fingerprinted.

Sigrid M., Ypsilanti, Michigan

You cannot legally drive a car without having liability insurance. What if you could not own a gun without having liability insurance against the accidental or purposeful infliction of damage from that gun? Insurance companies would do a very good job of making sure insurance is only issued for low-risk owners. Let free enterprise regulate who can own a gun.

Peter R., Comox, British Columbia

on The Carlos Watson Show!

We need to raise our children to react with compassion rather than acts of violence when they feel threatened. We need to show boys that it isn’t weakness to care about others — it takes strength to be vulnerable.

Joanie L., Kelseyville, California

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