From our readers

Editor:

I see in the latest edition of the Peshtigo Times that the Town of Peshtigo in fact does Not bill the home owner for fighting home fires.

In my opinion it just seems unconscionable that the City of Peshtigo is going to bill city residents for fighting home fires. After someone loses their home and all of their possessions the city will be gracious enough to send them a bill. My homeowners insurance only pays a maximum of $500 so the city can’t pass this off by saying the homeowner’s insurance will pay the bill. City residents are already paying city taxes and we are billed for fire protection on our water bills.

R. Meyer

Letter to the Editor:

In Father Dorner’s Letter to the Editor called “Self Defense: An absolute right,” I wonder what happened to the meaning of the Biblical law that is written in the Ten Commandments that said “Thou Shall Not Kill.” Do we not believe in the Ten Commandments anymore? Why would anyone carry a gun unless they mean to kill someone that seems threatening to us?

Dorner said, “We are more than capable of better protecting ourselves from the murderers in our midst, if only the law would permit. I plead with you not only to protect our right to bear arms but to encourage the exercise of that right, a critical means of effectively defending ourselves and our loved ones.”

St. Paul was a murderer yet converted his life and he became one of the greatest leaders in Christianity. After he went out as a changed man, what did he have to protect himself from anger and hate that people had toward him?? He had faith in God. And is this a means of protection? I heard from the pulpit that with God everything is possible.

What about the murderers among us? Even priests have murdered, which is documented in a number of articles which you can find online. Do priests bring to Mass a concealed weapon in case one of the parishioners started to shoot in the church? Or the parishioners bring guns to church because they are afraid that a priest who will go nuts will shoot people who are attending Mass? Where is God in all of this?

Father Dorner wants people who have concealed weapons to be allowed in our schools? As Dorner says, “Clearly post on the doors that anybody with a concealed carry permit is welcome to carry on school property with the restriction that they are not to show or discuss the weapon publically.” Perhaps Dorner should post the same thing on the door of the church so all of us who attend Mass can protect ourselves from the murderers that might be among us who are in church. You never know.

I’ve worked with murders in prison for 31 years and many of them were law abiding citizens before they committed murder, not your crackpot that got a hold of a gun and decided to go kill people. Doctors, Lawyers, priests... all guilty of committing murder.

I think that by getting rid of God in our lives, by ignoring the fact that we live such a short time, with people focusing more on ‘the things’ of the world and often not focusing on any good we can do for others that will help the world, then it is all of us that are losing . which has nothing to do with the right to have guns.

Sr Pauline Quinn op,

Marinette

Letter to Editor:

Are guns more about emotion than fact?

I ask that question because emotion is an irrational basis to establish policy decisions and has led to harmful policy and decisions on both individual and national policy levels. Examples of emotional decision-making are common in marriage and friendship types of relationships, in working and business relationships, in policy decisions such as women’s roles in the business world, in gay rights areas, and in understanding people who look or live in different cultures and belief systems. Lives have been lost and wars started because of emotional (irrational) decision-making coming out of emotions such as fear, anxiety, distrust, greed, prejudice, control, etc. I understand for some, guns make some people feel safer and/or more powerful. Military knock-offs with anti-personal type munitions and large clip sizes may heighten that feeling for some.

The next questions are: “Do guns in fact make the public safer?” and “Do bigger more deadly guns increase safety for people and the general public?” The answer is no if the research is looked at as a whole. Even the study that the NRA cites as proof that increase concealed carry permits lower crime is not validated when the data used is looked at by other researchers of equal professional status and credentials. What they find is that the guns have no provable effect on public safety.

It is also a fact that we are one of the most violent countries in the industrial world yet have enough guns owned by citizens now (excluding the US military) for every man, women, and child. On a typical day in the US, 33 people are murdered by guns, and 50 die in gun suicides. States with lax gun laws have higher rates of handgun killings and of fatal shootings of police officers.

The most common groups in this country to become victims of gun violence are: wives and girlfriends of men who own guns, inner-city African-American men, and people who suffer from clinical depression. It should be noted that New York City chose to advocate and enforce strict gun regulation, and is now considered one of the safest large cities in the country according to current research.

It is clear that a balance needs to be found for hunters, personal defense for some, and reducing gun deaths (public safety as supported by overall research). The Constitution and Second Amendment according to court rulings do not prohibit regulation of gun ownership or munitions. It seems to me that reasonable regulations include universal background checks, clip capacity limits, and gun lethalness limits. No policy is 100% effective any more than speed limits are but reasonable regulation has proven to improve public safety and save lives. For me, saving lives is the point particularly when we lose so many every year compared to most other countries in the world.

Gilbert Engel,

Niagara

Dear Editor:

My wife and I are writing because we are appalled by the Peshtigo Times, January 23, 2013 letter written by Father Joseph Dorner in which he takes issue with Bishop Tobin’s article. Bishop Tobin said, “The right to own guns is not an absolute right. As a personal right it always has to be balanced with the legitimate rights of other people, and with protecting the common good. That’s a principle that applies to all individual freedoms.” That sounds reasonable and practical in a civilized society.

We are flabbergasted that Father Dorner would advocate teachers carrying guns in a school setting. In addition, he proposed that anyone coming into a school with a permit to carry a concealed weapon be welcomed to carry on school property with only the restriction to not show the weapon or talk about it. He goes on to say that teachers and all school personnel should be encouraged to learn how to use a firearm and to conceal carry if they so wish.

Does anyone really believe his proposals would stop a mentally ill person with an assault rifle from entering a school building? Does Father Dorner have any credible evidence supporting the idea that a teacher with a hand gun can take out a heavily armed murderer and not harm anyone else? Or does he think teachers should be armed with assault rifles? How much training would teachers need to accurately and safely act in an emergency situation? Who will pay for it? Law enforcement and military personnel are highly trained because that’s part of their job, and studies show how difficult it is for them to properly respond. Please ask Father Dorner what the weapons experts say. Furthermore, who is na�ve enough to believe that just “instructing” students to not tell which employees are carrying will be enough to keep them from blabbing?

Father Dorner also says, “it is our anti-gun culture that has to change”. Really? Our country has more guns per 100 people (89) than any other civilized country and more gun related deaths per 100,000 people than any one of these countries except Mexico.

We cannot believe that a reasonable person would advocate individuals carrying guns in a school setting and thereby place our young at more risk. We cannot believe that a peace-loving person would condone more violence.

John and Doris LaCourt

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