Blame the person

To rephrase Tom Webb’s first sentence (“Need reasonable gun control” – Aug. 3): As usual in the aftermath of another deranged person killing with a gun, the anti-gunners come out in droves to place the blame on the gun.

His statement, “What purpose is private ownership of a military assault weapon”: My hunting rifle is semiautomatic, has a wood stock and uses a cartridge the same those rifles you want banned. How are you to separate my hunting rifle from your so-called assault rifle ban? They operate identically, differ only in looks, it’s not black and has no bayonet …

To rephrase Tom Webb’s first sentence (“Need reasonable gun control” – Aug. 3): As usual in the aftermath of another deranged person killing with a gun, the anti-gunners come out in droves to place the blame on the gun.

His statement, “What purpose is private ownership of a military assault weapon”: My hunting rifle is semiautomatic, has a wood stock and uses a cartridge the same those rifles you want banned. How are you to separate my hunting rifle from your so-called assault rifle ban? They operate identically, differ only in looks, it’s not black and has no bayonet lug. If the military-style rifle is banned, the next deranged person will use a hunting rifle. Then he will say they must be banned.

His call to add more gun laws is absurd. Criminals do not obey existing laws. Why would they obey additional laws?

Timothy McVeigh murdered 168 people using ammonium nitrate fertilizer and diesel oil. That is over 10 times as many people as killed in Aurora, Colo. Did I miss the letter on banning ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel?

It’s the mentally deranged person that has to be stopped. Not the killing instrument he uses.

Fred Phillips

Chewelah, Wash.