Letters: Gun controllers claim their efforts are toward gun safety. That is a lie

Gun control propaganda

It’s hard to know where to begin with your Feb. 28 article (“ATF list on gun sales names 6 area stores”) about how many “crime” guns were traced to Northeast Ohio gun shops.

First, the number of such guns is meaningless without knowing how many total firearms each of those businesses transferred during the relevant period. What percentage were the crime guns of the total number of guns transferred? You provide no context.

Second, a trace to a crime can be misleading. For example, if police respond to a domestic disturbance, they can and often do trace guns present in the home, whether those guns were actually used in the disturbance.

Third, the article was polluted with gun control propaganda. Gun controllers claim their efforts are toward gun safety. That is a lie. Their efforts focus on gun control, period, and there is a difference. Few if any of them know the first thing about gun safety. If they were concerned about gun safety, they would advocate education on firearms handling and use. They do not. Additionally, their use of the term gun violence is a calculated effort to link guns with something perceived as being bad.

There is no sales loophole, as gun controllers would have you believe. The parameters for who must be licensed are relatively clear, irrespective of the Biden administration’s efforts to twist them to justify further restrictions. What they want is universal background checks. They know those are unenforceable without registration, but they don’t mention that. If universal checks become law, they will then claim there must be registration to close another loophole.

Perhaps your staff, like some of the public at large, has been bombarded with gun control propaganda for so long it no longer understands the issues. Just remember this: No amount of control is enough for gun control advocates. California is a perfect example. The flow of new gun control laws there is never-ending, yet it has as much if not more gun crime than most other states.

Chris Beebe, East Sparta

Absolute immunity is absurd

By agreeing to hear Donald Trump’s claim of absolute presidential immunity, a legally absurd claim devoid of any constitutional predicate, the last vestiges of institutional integrity for the U.S. Supreme Court were evaporated. Literally, a case was created where there is no true controversy.

The immunity issue had been fully briefed and adjudicated by the lower courts. With the presidential election on the horizon and two pending federal criminal cases involving one of the presumptive candidates, any perceived need by any of the nine justices to declare the final word should have been taken up in December by invoking the tool of an accelerated appeal. The criminal trials could have timely proceeded giving Trump his day in court and the question answered of whether he did indeed unduly subvert the legitimacy of the 2020 election or improperly remove records from the White House.

Instead, by giving credence to an indefensible argument, the Supreme Court is essentially adopting his strategy of delay and running out the clock. Even allowing for some legitimate purpose, the case needed prompt scheduling as the nominating process moves forward and the campaign intensifies. Yet, oral argument was set out nearly two months and a decision unlikely until the end of June. In 2000, the court heard and decided Bush v. Gore, certainly one of critical importance, in three days! The present case will have far greater impact and historical significance.

Previous decisions by the Roberts court have undermined civil rights and just accepting Trump's appeal undoubtedly caused champagne corks to pop inside Mar-a-lago. It is now doubtful either federal trial will be completed before November.

The Supreme Court has opened the door to an indicted but not convicted man never having to be held accountable for his conduct. The American people deserve better. Let us hope that Feb. 28, 2024, will not be remembered with infamy as the day democracy died.

Brian J. Willams, Akron

Enough is enough

Thousands of lives murdered, destroyed, starving and homeless with no end in sight.

These wars today go on for years and years and no one wins.

The money spent could better so many lives in so many ways.

There has to be a better plan in 2024.

Shame on us … all of us.

Kat Davis, Uniontown

Who is fooled?

Dear Mr. Trump:

You can fool some of the people all of the time.

Sincerely, The Majority of Americans

Karen L. Miller, Coventry Township

Please stop already

Bob Straight (“Beware of recency syndrome,” March 3) passes along the wild accusations of a twice-impeached, 91-times-indicted traitor that our current president is responsible for inflation, student loan sharks who continue billing people long after they have paid their original principle, “open borders” and uppity women who murder fetuses for the heck of it.

I wish Mr. Straight and others would stop listening to a fraud who has never told the truth in his life. The damage that Donald Trump caused in four years will take us 40 years to repair. Please stop already.

Rick Hawksley, Kent

Fight fire with fire

The liberals have been boycotting conservative people, companies and causes for decades. Only recently have conservatives learned that we must fight fire with fire.

The guest author of your opinion column, Brian Alexander, is appalled that sponsors would withhold sponsorship money from an event based on political views. Welcome to our world.

Lynne Abramovich, Akron

Private equity in health care?

David Perry (“Summa buyout isn’t healthy," Feb. 25) does a fantastic job of explaining why it would be a mistake to turn over the Summa  keys to a for-profit private equity firm, and I completely agree. When did health care become profit-based anyway?

What I’m wondering is why Summa Health hasn’t explored the MetroHealth model of city and/or county partnership?

Somebody needs to step on the brakes and re-evaluate this whole deal. Eileen Shapiro and Shammas Malik, please help!

Jeff Davis, Akron

Comic strips missed

Having traveled throughout our United States, I always enjoyed returning home and the Beacon Journal’s comics.

The stop of “Frazz” and “Big Nate” and the Sunday “Doonesbury” makes the comic section less enjoyable now. If ever possible, why not survey your readers before making changes in this comic section?

Please consider tossing some new ones aside and return “Frazz,” “Big Nate” and the Sunday “Doonesbury.” I have subscribed to the Beacon Journal for 63 years.

Mary Ann Roese, Cuyahoga Falls

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Gun controllers are lying about safety, letter writer says