Wrong lesson taken from Killing Crew gun
Letters to the Editor April 17, 2013 4:40PM
Cubs relief pitcher Carlos Marmol reacts after striking out Alex Gonzalez in the eighth inning of the Chicago Cubs 7-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in the Cubs home opener Monday April 8, 2013 at the Wrigley Field. | Tom Cruze~Sun-Times
Updated: April 18, 2013 2:21AM
This newspaper’s editorial page backs universal background checks for gun purchases, citing the example of the purchase of two guns in Indiana by the Far South Side Killing Crew. Yet this example actually shows the futility of background checks.
The gun was purchased by someone with no criminal record with the express intent of giving it to a known criminal, which already is illegal to do, just as it’s already illegal to shoot people, sell narcotics, steal cars and rob. The Killing Crew does these things anyway.
Laws do not stop criminal conduct; they define what conduct is criminal. The only persons who would be affected by universal background checks would be law-abiding to begin with.
There was less violence in the 1950s, before background checks, waiting periods and age limits to buy firearms, and before the licensing of gun dealers and existence of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Easy access to guns cannot be the problem.
Perhaps gangs that boast in their name that they are a “killing crew” are a problem.
Steve Stanek, McHenry
Simon silly on gun and bombs
It sure didn’t take columnist Roger Simon long to use the horrors of terrorism to further his gun control agenda. Wake up. The only thing guns and bombs have in common is the criminal using them!
It’s simple, Simon, if you’re comfortable with government mandating your every breath, feel free to immigrate. Perhaps North Korea or Venezuela is more appealing to you.
Ron Dimitrakopoulos,
Downers Grove
Money no excuse for Cubs
Am I the only one tired of hearing about how the most profitable team in baseball, the Chicago Cubs, needs to raise a lot more revenue before it can put a competitive team on the field? A team that annually brings nearly 3 million people through its turnstiles and sells them overpriced beer and food? A team with a history of more than a century of abject failure? A team that already charges the third highest ticket prices in the league? I, for one, am well past waiting. I’m through.
Dave Atkins, Buena Park
