Readers Write: Gun violence and 'Stand Your Ground' laws, ideological diversity, doomsday preppers

The headline "It's the guns, stupid" over Paul John Scott's excellent May 7 commentary was a wedge-driver. It is emblematic of our reversion to politics of the middle finger. You like guns? You're stupid, I hate you. You oppose permitless carry? You're a snowflake, I hate you.

There is more to this discussion — and a lot of middle ground if we stop the shouting.

Scott's article is very good, but may leave some readers lumping all "firearms" into one category. Hunters of Minnesota, your rights are very, very safe in this state. I am one of you. But do people who stuff loaded handguns (such as the Glock M17, a semiautomatic pistol capable of firing 17 rounds in less than five seconds) under their shirt before they dive into a crowd require extra consideration and training to keep our community safe and our suicide rates from skyrocketing? You bet.

Hunters of Minnesota, you don't need the NRA. However, the "sharia vigilante" (Star Tribune, April 13) needs the NRA. They share the same values. He apparently wants to conceal a loaded handgun while he harangues innocent pedestrians. Our current laws screened him, and the Hennepin County Sheriff's office denied him a concealed-carry permit. Legislation proposed this session would have allowed him to legally acquire, load and stuff a Glock 17 under his shirt as he made his rounds in Cedar-Riverside. And if someone responds in a way that he claims is threatening, he may have justification to pull the trigger if "Stand Your Ground" sneaks onto the floor for a vote late in the session.

Many very good people believe that permitless carry and "Stand Your Ground" may result in crazed criminals being stopped moments before they commit a horrible crime. Stopping criminals from committing violent crime is a goal we all share. But suicide and accidental death are far more likely to result from untrained, unscreened people stuffing loaded Glock 17s in their shirts. The pain far outweighs any societal gain.

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"It's the guns, Stupid" is aiming at the wrong target. It states that universal background checks are supported by 86 percent of Minnesotans, yet the Legislature is incapable of acting according to the clear mandate of the people. This is not a gun problem. It's a problem with our political system, which is not really functioning as a democracy. Unfortunately we're ruled by influence-peddling instead of a true democratic process.

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The writing in "It's the guns, stupid" was clever and interesting, and covered a lot of ground. As I began reading, I was hoping to hear two things. But I heard neither. First, since the author began with several paragraphs on the number of gun permits to carry issued last year, and the total currently valid today, I was hoping to hear of the relationship of permit holders to the dozens of gun incidents he outlined. But he failed to make any connection. I want to believe the connection of permit holders to shooting incidents is low. Including those statistics in his review of shooting incidents would have been extremely informative. Second, I was hoping the author's creative thinking would lead to a new and innovative solution to the problem. But he offered nothing, and all we are left with is another exercise in creative writing.

D.J. Tice (May 7) bemoans insufficient ideological diversity in the city. It's a curious concern to have. For example, would he prefer more urban dwellers oppose equal opportunity under the law for gays and lesbians and racial minorities in order to balance things more? Also curious is his obligatory shot at the left. He suggests "today's troubling spirit of punishing intolerance on the left — most visible in the plight of free speech on college campuses" — may be partly to blame. Yet he doesn't mention that two of the most progressive members of Congress, Bernie Sanders and Keith Ellison, have denounced incidents where radical conservative speakers were shut down at universities. Are there any leaders on the right who have condemned Chief of Staff Reince Priebus's musing ("This is something we've looked at") about altering the First Amendment to lower libel standards so that President Trump can sue anyone who criticizes him — especially the press?

Perhaps the reason for less ideological diversity in urban areas these days is that cities are where true demographic diversity is to be found, and a higher percentage of the people there have figured out which leaders embrace that and which want to return American society to a state of white male primacy.

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Such a voting model that pits Democrats against Democrats is necessary not because of groupthink, but because of the GOP's repeated failure to address the concerns of urban voters. As Republican priorities have shifted from efficient governance and balanced budgets to preemption of local preferences and bad-faith attacks on urban infrastructure and services, it is little surprise that Minneapolis and St. Paul have given them the cold shoulder. Perhaps someday Minnesota Republicans will field another consensus candidate like Arne Carlson, who understood that urban and rural Minnesotans' prosperity is interdependent, and likewise enjoyed great support both in and out of the metro. Until then, meaningful political dialogue will continue in the Twin Cities — and the GOP will remain on the outside looking in.

The writer is a Minnesotan temporarily living abroad.

While I consider my life on earth to have been and to currently be a blessing of epic proportions, I read with fascination the May 7 article about Minnesota preppers ready for the worst ("Prepared, not necessarily paranoid," Variety, May 7). While I respect the can-do attitude and the thoroughness of the featured prepper's planning, I wondered if I'd want to survive all the scenarios he's prepping for.

Because I spent much of the first half of my life fearing death, I volunteered at a nursing home a couple of decades ago partly because it was the right thing to do, partly to help me get more comfortable with the end of life. That experience and the more recent and more up-close-and-personal witnessing of my parents' end-of-life journeys helped me understand that death can be a friend.

While life on this earth is indeed grand, I can envision all kinds of scenarios when death will be a welcomed visitor at my door.