Letter writer: President Obama, Democratic Party, off base on gun control legislation

Monica Scott | By Monica Scott |
Follow on Twitter
on January 18, 2013 at 7:59 PM, updated January 18, 2013 at 8:00 PM
GC12126148-large.jpg File Photo: Criminal background checks would be required for all gun purchases under the president's proposal, including rifles and shotguns sold between private parties, such as at gun shows. Letter writer opposes new legislation.  

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Letter writer Thomas Wysocki says that what President Obama and the Democratic Party are doing with their gun control legislation to help stop recent mass killings is completely off base.

"We have to remember that people kill people. What they are doing is treating the symptoms and not attacking the root cause," said Wysocki, in his letter to the editor, published below:

RELATED:Obama gun control proposals draw fire from Michigan firearms groups; supporters want action

View other reader's opinions:

• Stalemate on spending cuts.

• People kill people.

• Tax breaks, robbing from our future.

• The truth about the 2nd Amendment.

• Abortion.

• Congressman Amash's leadership.

• The extreme right wing.

• Payroll taxes.



President, Democrats, wrong on gun control
What President Obama and the Democratic Party are doing with their gun control legislation to help stop these recent mass killings is completely off base. We have to remember that people kill people.

What they are doing is treating the symptoms and not attacking the root cause. Let’s look at the left wing liberal media, which includes most of the major TV networks and newspapers, the left wing liberal Hollywood and its actors and actresses.

Most of the material they put out in terms of movies and prime time serials is all about shooting and killing and killing and shooting. And since our young generations of people spend hours and hours in front of TV now-a-day, do you think there might be an influence here?

So what is this main stream media doing to curb the violence that they present us every day. I would say nothing. Yes, I know they will say they have First Amendment rights. Well, the American people have Second Amendment rights too.

The media obviously liked the money and talk out of both sides of their mouths, and all at the expense of the American people. Shame on them! When are they going to step up to the plate and be responsible?

How the U.S. avoids becoming like Greece
Because of the stalemate in Congress and the fact that the two sides will never agree on where to make the spending cuts and how much.

I would like to recommend something to the President and Congress. Agree on a mandatory 10 percent cut to all departments of government - all federal programs, all Social Security and Medicaid payments, wages of all federal workers, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court, and all federal works and programs, with no exceptions.

This must be accompanied by a one year freeze. I believe all responsible citizens would give a sigh of relief that we might still be able to save our country from financial ruin and leave something for our children and grandchildren. I believe this would improve the stock market immediately, the money markets would get some confidence that we are serious about our debt, and the world would get some confidence that we are not another Greece.

If this is done honestly across the board, no exceptions, I believe the country would accept it, and neither Democrats nor Republicans will get the blame. Both houses of Congress must accept this pay cut or the country and especially Federal employees would not accept it. This must go into immediate effect, or it will bog down and fizzle out.

Blame people, not objects, for killings
Why are we allowing our elected officials to tell us what's best for us? What happened to personal accountability?

First of all my heart breaks for all of the families who lost their beautiful children in that horrible school shooting. As I listen to my local news, I hear many stories of shootings and murders both near and far. So many people dying everyday at the hands of others. The problem is not with the guns but with the people pulling the triggers.

Why does the blame for killings get put on objects rather than individuals? We have drunk drivers killing people every day because of their personal choice to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Should we regulate motor vehicles? What about knives, ropes, pipes or any other object that someone could use to take the life of anyone they choose, should we ban these also? Wake up people!

We all have choices to make in life. We all need to be held accountable for the choices we make and not pass blame on objects. Our government is barking up the wrong tree. To put regulations on guns is not the answer, holding people accountable for their actions is the answer.

Stop allowing our choices in life to be taken away by our government. I pray to God that we all wake up and realize the wrong direction that our country is head in. I love that I can make my own choices in life. Don't you?
MARY HOCKIN/Hudsonville

Robbing from the future
In the January 15 Grand Rapids Press, there was a Bloomberg News article that lamented the smaller paydays resulting from the expiration of the two percent reduction in payroll taxes. Does anyone care that the reduction in payroll taxes for the past two years was simply borrowing Social Security money to pay for current consumption?

And, does anyone care that the money borrowed from Social Security was in fact largely replaced by money from the government’s general fund? And, by the way, since the general fund is and was in a deficit situation, does anyone care that the government had to borrow the money that it took out of the general fund and put into the Social Security fund?

In short, the government gave people a little extra money in their paychecks when the government had no money to give.

I hope everyone who got the tax break enjoyed the extra outing to the movie, dinner out, etc., because one day someone will have to repay the loan - maybe you.

End the war on children
Mass murderers of millions in the 20th century were Hitler and Stalin and Mao and Pol Pot and Abortion. Simply because of "Choice" there continues to be one million abortions each year in America. Is not abortion a blood sacrifice to the God of self?

Stop the war on Children! Give life to those being created in the image of God!

Law-abiding gun owners have made enough concessions
Letter writer John Buttrey needs to look into the 2nd Amendment a little deeper before pointing too many fingers and insulting too many people ("Background checks, ban on high-capacity guns necessary," Jan. 16). The 2nd Amendment was NOT about hunting, alone, or self-defense alone, but the right to defend oneself from a tyrannical government.

I know him and every other anti-gunner out there are gasping for breath right now. Read The Federalist Papers. Anyway, given this reason for the Second Amendment, any further restrictions on law abiding gun owners would be a serious step toward said tyranny. Law-abiding gun owners have already allowed the "Infringements" of background checks, the banning of fully automatic weapons, felons being prohibited firearms, ammo restrictions, required permits, etc.

Infringements was capitalized for a reason. Go look it up, the definition. Now read the 2nd Amendment once more. Haven't we, the law-abiding gun owners, already made quite a few concessions by allowing these Infringements, many of which are to cater to anti-gun insecurities. Its obvious the existing ones aren't effective, so what makes you think further concessions made by gun owners will make any difference?

Any further restrictions will be a serious step towards the aforementioned tyranny. As a Christian, an American and a human being, I am very disappointed in a culture that sacrifices its basic Freedoms instead of really addressing a serious problem.

RELATED:Background checks, ban on high-capacity guns necessary

Gun control is not a panacea
The gun control issue has gotten way out of hand. I feel very sorry about what happened in Connecticut. It is a terrible crime however gun control is not going to fix the problem. Our politicians are using that crime to shove gun control down our throat. The second amendment was put in place by our forefathers to protect the people against the government.

I don't understand what makes the murders in Connecticut any different than abortion.This country kills thousand of unborn babies everyday, that is legal. This country spends millions on murdering unborn babies. Our president and attorney general can sell guns to criminals to purposely kill innocent people (Operation Fast and Furious) and when they get caught use executive privilege to hide the crime. They are no less murders than the gunmen in Connecticut and Colorado.

It is time we put the bible and prayer back in our schools and teach our children morals and discipline.
DEAN HELMS/Byron Township

Congressman Amash 'isn't just playing politics'
This author of the letter, "Amash isn't working for the people (Jan. 10)," belittles Congressman Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, for his voting, apparently because he doesn't always vote along party lines. The author wants everyone to “just get along” and "show me the money." And THAT, sports fans, is what is wrong with us and our elected bodies.

I believe the middle-class American is pretty much fed up with “politics as usual” They are sick and tired of the constant stalemates, and inability of either party to move, even slightly, from their rigid demands and actually accomplish something beyond rhetoric. With the passage of almost any bill, comes a bunch of “pork” – in the form of attachments used to buy the vote.

When is our supposed leadership going to start doing what is best for our country, and at least some of the time put “country” before “district”? We have a monstrous debt, and continued use of the pork barrel is both asinine and shameful. I expect responsible leadership from elected officials, not handouts. If we as a nation continue along the lines of gimmee, gimmee, that will eventually be our downfall.

Look around the world, as there are many examples of nations in despair for that very reason. I applaud Congressman Amash, for it appears he is voting his conscience, either for what he believes is a reasonable solution, or against what he believe to be a poor solution.

I may not always agree with Congressman Amash, but at least he isn't "just playing politics." How refreshing!


What the extreme right wing doesn't want you to know
Many in the tea party, extreme right wingers, some radio commentators and many others don't seem to want you to know as they don't mention it, is that the average middle class couple will pay more of a percentage increase in taxes than a millionaire couple making 10 times as much as them, if you include payroll taxes.

Also, they love to tell you how Social Security is going broke and that there are many fewer workers paying in for each worker who is retired and drawing Social Security..
What is it they don't want you to know, the millionaire couple will pay a smaller percentage of an income tax increase than the middle class couple.

Now let’s look at Social Security, In 1936 it was capped at 2%, employer and employee combined. It is now 12.4 percent combined. Also, the cutoff was $3,000 then, now it is over $100,000 They don't tell you those facts.

Yes, we probably need to do something. Maybe that millionaire couple could pay more of a percentage in payroll taxes, for example, on income over $450,000.