Ringelstetter letter: Guns

Having run manufacturing plants and being responsible for the safety of my employees, I think guns should be treated as any other safety issue.

Using or having access to dangerous tools when they aren’t absolutely needed is a safety issue.

Guns are always dangerous. I know. I was standing next to a friend, a lifelong hunter, while unloading his gun and it went off. Fortunately, the bullet went into the ground next to my foot.

We don’t allow people to walk around carrying dynamite because you never know when they might need to blow something up. Dynamite, for obvious reason, can only be purchased by trained, licensed handlers.

The only difference is, we are all aware of the dangers of dynamite but desensitized to the dangers of guns due to the ubiquity of them. Guns are dangerous tools.

If you carry a gun because you are afraid something might happen, eventually, something will happen. But most likely not the thing you might think. Rather than gloriously stopping a terrorist attack, a traffic confrontation. Rather than a bravely stopping a robbery, a loud mouth gets in your face. With guns so available, any perceived injury can quickly escalate into mayhem.

This story was originally published January 18, 2016 at 11:33 PM with the headline "Ringelstetter letter: Guns."