Comments on: Variety of Opinions Heard in Campus Conversation on Guns

By: Richard Waldron '70

Richard Waldron '70 — Wed, 02 May 2018 22:41:50 +0000

When I read articles such a this one, I am amazed by the ignorance of the anti-gun side. When the high school teacher talks about automatic gunfire and battlefield weapons, he has no understanding of what can be bought over the counter and what our armed forces carry on the battlefield. Automatic weapons are not available to the general public, and a study recently published at Quora on people killed by automatic weapons states “That gets the grand maximal total to twenty (20) since 1934.”

The last paragraph says it all; “tackling wider issues behind the violence, like mental health and poverty.” The vast majority of gum murders take place in cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, St Louis, Detroit and Oakland, CA. The common thread is that all are controlled by liberal Democrats. Illinois, Maryland and California have strict gun rules, yet the violence goes on. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have permissive gun laws, yet their murder rates are the lowest in the country. It is not the gun but the culture of violence that results from today’s politicians who reject personal responsibility and the morality of the past.

By: '16Activist

'16Activist — Wed, 02 May 2018 17:29:04 +0000

If we need guns to defend ourselves against the government–then I feel like we should be considering the governments liberty to use weapons on average people. Instead of having regular people own assault weapons and police have access to a variety of war weapons, why not regulate the access on both sides?

By: Drew King '79

Drew King '79 — Wed, 02 May 2018 14:43:32 +0000

We’ve had enough yelling and accusing. Understanding and dialogue are what we need more of. Congrats to the organizers and the participants for getting the ball rolling.

By: Sarah Arnold, Ph.D.

Sarah Arnold, Ph.D. — Wed, 02 May 2018 11:29:23 +0000

I’m impressed that Bowdoin held this calm, rational discussion on guns in our culture. Two points: Do we really need protection from our federal government as the founders feared when they put in place the Second Amendment? Second, no other developed country has the percentage of deaths from gun violence that we do—-30,000 a year last I heard. We need to look at that.

By: Sarah Arnold, Ph.D.

Sarah Arnold, Ph.D. — Wed, 02 May 2018 11:21:45 +0000

I’m so impressed that Bowdoin had this calm, rational discussion. Two points: Do we really still need protection from our federal government as the founders feared when they installed the Second Amendment?
Secondly, other developed countries do not lose the percentage of their population to gun violence every year that we do—30,000 people a year. We need to look at that.

By: Paul Chutich

Paul Chutich — Wed, 02 May 2018 04:46:03 +0000

Gun control is certainly a sticky issue in our country, but one that is certainly worth discussing on a daily basis. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people is an old argument, but one which needs to be discussed. If their is no availability of handguns, the possibility of deaths by handguns will go down proportionately. We should also look at the statistics from England, where handguns are not available to the public. I am not against people owning guns per se, but think we could do a better job of controlling who owns them and how many are out there in the public. Handguns really only have one purpose(and I think Lynyard Skynyard made a song about this). The bigger issue is the current trend in this country which is people watching or seeing other people on the news making a splash by hurting other people and therefore copycatting others and doing these awful deeds. The media needs to stop reporting all of these things as a public service to the rest of us who have not been affected by these terrible events. Social media, while sometimes interesting and helpful, also hurts us, by those who are not able to handle it and all that goes with it. Mental health is the bigger issue here in the U.S.

By: Kalevi Kotkas

Kalevi Kotkas — Tue, 01 May 2018 23:24:33 +0000

I was pleased to read that Bowdoin appears to have a civil discussion on the gun issue. As a student in the late 60’s I was able to have a shotgun in my fraternity house and enjoy duck and grouse hunting in Maine.
I am a US Army veteran and a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I am reminded of what my 93 year old mother said , when the communists (Russians) took over Estonia, they confiscated all the guns.

By: David A DeBoer MD MBA ‘80

David A DeBoer MD MBA ‘80 — Tue, 01 May 2018 22:03:28 +0000

This is an Excellent and Bowdoin approach to solving problems. Gather data by listening to each other. Appreciate the perspective of your fellow citizen. Get to know your neighbor before advocating your position. We might be surprised what we can learn from each other.