To the editor:

In the March 31 letter, “A gun is a tool, too,” Nick Erickson proposes that parents and society are to blame for the recent outbreak of school shootings. He is right that bad parenting and environment teach kids violent ideas, but society must share the responsibility when it comes to the violence children are seeing and perhaps imitating.ÿ Erickson misses the point of my original letter, “Vote common sense.”

A gun does not, by itself, kill, but it is deadlier in the wrong hands. If a gun isn’t available, Erickson says, a violent kid will find another means.ÿ

Erickson expects educated people to believe a kitchen knife has the same potential as a gun. I think not!

The little girl in Michigan would have been able to run away from a knife. No one can run from a speeding bullet!

In my original letter, my thesis was the Republican-led Congress and the National Rifle Association are irresponsible and simple-minded in their thinking on this deadly problem.

The individual who allowed the boy access to the gun should be held responsible, and we ought to hold ourselves responsible for easy availability to these deadly weapons.

Nobody hunts with a handgun. A handgun is designed to kill people!

We ought to demand responsibility from our citizenry who own handguns. We ought to demand common sense gun control like President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and now even some enlightened Republicans are calling for, such as the use of smart gun technology, trigger locks and background checks at gun shows.ÿ

A common sense response to gun violence must be demanded by the electorate!

Tom Blair

Junior

Spanish ÿ