Guns not the problem; humans are to blame and other letters to the editors

Friday, January 1, 1904

Guns not the problem; humans are to blame

"Well, you know, my shotgun will do better for you than your AR-15, because you want to keep someone away from your house, just fire the shotgun through the door." With quotes like this, it's no wonder this nation has a problem with guns.

Of all people to say something like this, Joe Biden -- our vice president -- tells Americans to buy a shotgun, a double barrel shotgun, and just shoot through the door if we feel threatened. What kind of advice is this? He is encouraging Americans to break the law. This sounds like something Democrats would have you believe the "evil" NRA would say.

The idea of gun control seems to surface only when there is a national tragedy, such as the Newtown Conn., shootings. It is horrible what Adam Lanza did to those innocent children and to those brave teachers. Unfortunately, somehow, the blame went to the guns he used, rather than the fact that he was mentally unstable and the fact that both his mother and psychologist knew it.

Why did neither one of them speak up? They knew there was a problem, yet they did nothing. This is the problem. How can you blame the tool for what the human decided to do with it?

We need more help for the mentally ill, not more laws that will be ignored anyway.

SATCHEL DAHL, Hixson


TVA land should stay in public domain

TVA is a major landholder, and although there has been a broad discussion on the potential privatization of TVA, I have seen no indication of what would become of TVA's land holdings.

When TVA was created, 1.3 million acres of land were acquired through eminent domain. Thousands of families were forced, sometimes brutally, to vacate their homes and farms. The remuneration these displaced families received was miserly, and the bitterness resulting from this still echoes in the Tennessee Valley.

About 470,000 acres of the acquired lands now are inundated by water, and 485,000 acres have been transferred for public use such as recreation parks and preservation. About 20,000 acres were sold for residential and industrial use. TVA continues to hold 293,000 acres -- and that property is the subject of my concern.

This land must not pass to a commercial concern. If this property that was ripped from the hands of private citizens becomes an asset to generate corporate profits, it will be a grave injustice. You can't forcibly take lands at bargain-basement prices and then sell them for a profit.

The TVA property in question must remain in the public domain for the enjoyment and use of all.

ROBERT CARRIER, Ten Mile, Tenn.