In the Dec. 8 Daily, there were two opinion pieces about guns, one by the editorial board and one by an Ames resident. In the Dec. 9 issue, there was a rebuttal saying DPS should not have guns.

The Daily brings up interesting points I find wrong. Their point was there are so many school shootings “they probably won’t even make the news anymore.” The media will publish anything controversial, and kids blasting away other kids is exactly what they want.

They then say, “The latest school shooting in Fort Gibson, Okla. is an even greater mystery … there were virtually no warning signs.”

What bugs me is that Seth Trickey, the 13-year-old shooter, got the gun from his dad’s closet. It was legally purchased in 1993 from Wal-Mart according to news.yahoo.com.

If Seth’s dad would have put the gun in a safe or put a trigger lock on it, this would not have happened.

Every school shooting has led me back to the carelessness of the parents. Parents of the ’90s are considerably less disciplinary than their parents. Granted, there are exceptions, but it has become apparent that gun violence by youth points right back to the lack of good discipline and parenting.

Jim Torrie’s letter confused me. He says he does “not claim that armed officers will prevent or minimize any threat to ISU” but then states that “Arming DPS officers would drastically reduce threats to the safety …” Am I the only one confused by the clash of his closing sentences?

According to Kris Fettkether’s letter, it’s not the DPS officers that we should be concerned about, but “of those they are protecting.” Fettkether’s thinking is flawed.

The basis of the argument is that drunk youths reach for cell phones and get shot by police because they thought the youth was pulling a gun. Reaching for a cell phone is a foolish mistake; so is driving drunk. You’re not only endangering yourself, but the police and every other citizen.

I would be willing to wager more people die from morons driving drunk than police officers shooting drunken youths because they are reaching for cell phones.

I’m not going to drive drunk, and I’m certainly not going to reach for anything concealed in front of a police officer; so personally, I don’t have to worry about your example of why DPS should not have guns.

Guns are good if in the possession of careful, trained people. Clearly, the parents of Seth Trickey do not qualify. My father has had guns for as long as I can remember.

Ever since I have been around, those guns have been under lock and key, and I have been told “Don’t touch them; and don’t let your friends touch them.”

Because of my parents, I was able to differentiate movie violence and real life. I urge all of you, if you ever purchase a gun, make sure you lock it up.

I don’t think you want to feel responsible for someone dying because you lacked the forethought of locking it up.

---

Colin Burnett

Freshman

Computer and electrical

engineering

Editor’s note: The Daily does not want kids to kill other kids.