These readers do not want Tennessee lawmakers to reform gun laws | Letters

Special session won’t accomplish anything

I always find it amusing that some that clamor for so-called “gun control” truly think you can legislate away violent gun crimes.

Have they not seen the stats that show that Chicago, with among the strictest gun control laws of any city in the nation, has a high rate of violent crime?

More red flag laws like the infamous “Tennessee Three” want to pass in the Volunteer State won't do anything at all to prevent shootings like what happened at The Covenant School in Nashville. People with criminal intentions will always find a way to get guns, no matter what laws are passed.

They can get naive family members or friends to get them for them easily.

The framers of our U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions were very wise. They recognized that the right for Americans to keep and bear arms for their own protection and to defend other law-abiding citizens is a sacred right of every citizen.

Since the frontier days of Davy Crockett and Andrew Jackson, Tennessee has been at the forefront of protecting the rights of its people. The governor is ill-advised in calling a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly in this upcoming hot summer. It is a waste of public money and will accomplish nothing.

All school shootings are tragedies. However, knee-jerk reactions in attempting to pass laws to regulate guns is a very misguided way to address it. We certainly need more beds for mentally ill people and more counseling & treatment.

Mark Hancock, Knoxville 37914

Counterpoint: These readers want Tennessee lawmakers to reform gun laws | Letters

Another view: I'm a sexual assault survivor. Now I train women to use guns to protect themselves.

Gun control doesn’t work

What is gun control?  The term gun control is a blanket term referring to laws and ordinances restricting how law-abiding citizens buy, own, or use firearms. The Second Amendment is the guarantee that law abiding citizens without restriction have the right to keep and bear arms.

When a law or ordinance is put in place each, one does not change the Second Amendment, however, it puts more limits on our freedoms. In time, there is no need to abolish the Second Amendment. Why? Restrictions eventually limit all the freedoms we Americans are entitled.

Laws and ordinances have been in place for decades. In 2023 it is very clear gun control does not work.   Criminals overwhelmingly obtain firearms through illegal networks and will never be prevented by state and federal laws.

If a mentally ill person is going to take a life the tool does not need to be a gun. According to FBI homicide statistics on average 315 people were killed by a long gun, (some people might call them “assault rifles”).  In comparison, a tool that can be purchased by a grade school age child was used on an average of 446 homicides per year.  The tool, ( key word) was a hammer!

FBI Homicide Statistics: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8.xls

William Peterson, Dover 37058 

Column: Tennessee lawmakers enact rules of ‘sadistic’ civility in special session | Plazas

It’s about people, not guns

In 1962 you could order guns from a mail order catalog by simply sending in a check. There were no background checks, no license required and no restrictions.

Almost anyone could get a gun. There were also not mass shootings. So it's not about the guns, it's about the people.

Tom Coplin, Franklin 37069

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Special session: These readers do not want Tennessee lawmakers to act