Letters: 'Gun controllers' are the ones acting heroically

Children are the future

I found one sentence in Christopher Beebe’s June 8 column ("Gun control backers focused on agenda, not saving lives") very puzzling: “Gun controllers have no interest in hardening schools.” 

Schools are meant to be an open and welcoming place for children to learn. They are to gain knowledge, friends and a sense of security on their way to becoming responsible adults.

More: Opinion: Mass shootings give 'gun controllers' ammo to push 'deceitful' agenda

Does the word “hardening” mean that the teachers should be armed? Can learning be possible if they are fearful for their safety?

Why can’t we, adults of different opinions, sit down and come to a reasonable compromise?

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These beautiful children are the future of our country.

Peggy Skuce, Powell

'Gun controllers' want to save lives

The recent tragedies in Uvalde (21 killed) and Buffalo (10 killed) are not simply  "backdrops for the gun controllers' agenda," as Christopher Beebe stated in his June 8 column, "Gun control backers focused on agenda, not saving lives."

The truth is "gun controllers" want to save the lives of children, teens, parents, grandparents, shoppers, worshippers, concert goers, friends and neighbors from senseless shootings.

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Since nine were killed and more than two dozen injured in Dayton in 2019, Ohioans have screamed "do something."

Now is the time for our governor and legislators to do something.

Some common-sense, widely accepted steps to "do something" to help save lives could include:

Raise the minimum age to purchase guns to 21; expand background checks to cover private sales; require safer gun storage and punishing people who fail to secure guns from children and criminals; expand red flag laws to remove guns from people in crisis.

More: After Texas school tragedy, Gov. Mike DeWine lays out plans to prevent shootings in Ohio

Why don't we start doing something by checking out the opinions of the candidates running for state legislature in this Aug. 2 primary and voting for your representative who will do something about gun violence?

Christina Moseley, Columbus

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'Despicable' views on guns

Christopher Beebe, who purportedly "has studied gun control for 40 years," could not have been more insulting to those of us who, yes, "are bent on gun control" (June 8 column, "Gun control backers focused on agenda, not saving lives").

More: Opinion: Mass shootings give 'gun controllers' ammo to push 'deceitful' agenda

He wrote that, "tragedies such as those in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, simply provide convenient backdrops for gun controllers' agenda, an agenda littered with deception and at times, outright lies."

How despicable.

Beebe's 40-year-old views and condescending attitude, represent the epitome of what people who advocate for reasonable gun control are up against.  But we must not let up.

Jane Larson, Dublin

More: How to submit guest opinion columns to the Columbus Dispatch

No votes for pro-gun candidates

I will never vote for anyone who does not support sensible gun laws. And I will never vote for anyone who votes to reduce the amount of training necessary to purchase a gun and receive a license.

Sue Gabel, Columbus

'Do something that makes sense'

I am a lifelong Republican and a long-time gun owner.  However, in the future, I will not support any Republican who is running for any office and has voted against the movement to raise the age from 18 to 21 in order to buy an AR-style rifle or any other firearm.

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The same lack of support by myself will be withheld for any candidate who votes against a movement to make the background check much more detailed and in-depth.

I recently applied for a TSA clearance to skip some of the checks at airports. This took three days to receive my clearance.

I also recently purchased a new handgun and this background check was approved in one hour.

Come on politicians, start doing something that makes sense.

David S. Walsh, Powell

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Changes needed in guns laws to help save lives