I was appalled that on Saturday we had two deaths by cooking utensils. What in the world do people need with knifes that sharp? Do they not care about the rest of us? At the very least, we need licenses for these weapons. What if a kid gets in the drawer and kills his little friend? I wonder how many of these utensils are in school kitchens. Any kid could walk in there and kill a cafeteria worker or teacher.
Also, knifes will be easier to outlaw because they are not protected by the 2nd Amendment. It doesn't say, "the right to keep and bear steak knifes will not be infringed" does it?
I think that we need to get our politicians to pass a law against any knife with a sharp edge. So what if people can't cut their food properly. This will save lives for goodness sake. Anyone should be ashamed not to give up these destructive tools in the name of saving lives. Without access to these weapons, these people would probably be alive. (That is if they didn't get a hammer from the garage).
Join me in outlawing steak knifes, or for that matter, any other knife that can kill. Let's outlaw box cutters while we are at it. They were used by 911 hijackers. You can just rip that box open by grabbing the tape.
I hope you anti-gun people will join me in the quest for safety.
Tim Price
Hixson
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It's really hard to take anyone's opinion seriously -- or to appreciate their sarcasm -- when that person doesn't know that the plural of "knife" is "knives."
Please refrain from lecturing immigrants to "learn English."
Ed Parry
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It's really hard to take anyone's opinion seriously -- or to appreciate their sarcasm -- when that person uses the misspelling/use of one word as an excuse to attack an otherwise well written, thoughtful and entertaining opinion piece.
Please refrain from lecturing thinkers on grammatical errors and "learn to think."
Steve Campbell
Mc Donald, Tn.
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Ah, the fill in the blank with object that kills people so we must outlaw it, sarcastic argument. I'm not necessarily anti-gun, but until you can use a gun to carve a turkey (knife), carry your groceries (grocery cart), or hop on it to take you to work or grandmother's house (car), let's stop this inane and useless tactic.
Using this argument is so full of logical fallacies it does not belong in an adult conversation about guns. Maybe that's why it's used.
Dan Pace
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I don't usually respond to letters but first of all, who cares about someone not hitting the spell check button. You nit-pickers only brought that up because you didn't like what Mr. Price said. His sarcastic letter hit the nail right on the head.
As far as Ed Parry goes, it is hard to take your opinion seriously when one word spelled wrong is worth a comment. This isn't a spelling bee, it is an opinion forum. This idea that hitting a spell check button makes you smart is about as relevant as being a liberal makes you smart.
Dan Pace's analogy was completely wrong. The whole point of the letter was to show the hypocrisy of outlawing one killing weapon over another. Both can be used as tools for good. A gun can be used for sport or protection. Protection is just a little more important than "to carve a turkey, carry your groceries," or whatever you meant.
Mr. Pace unwittingly proved Mr. Price's point. It is hypocrisy to outlaw guns and not other tools that kill. In other words, tools are tools and should not be outlawed because a few individuals use them to commit a crime. That concept is only "inane" to a liberal who thinks logic is anti-American. Mr. Pace is the epitome of a pseudo-intellectual.
Did I spell "pseudo-intellectual" correctly?
Robert Thompson
Soddy-Daisy
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Tim Price is sarcastically outraged that there were two deaths by knives on Saturday. Imagine how outraged he will be when he learns that every day in the U.S. there are about 85 gun deaths. That's every day and not just one or two freak occurrences.
Perhaps Tim already knows that guns kill over 31,000 people a year in the U.S. and he just doesn't care?
When the level of knife deaths approaches the level of gun deaths then maybe we should seriously consider outlawing knives.
Until then, let's get serious about saving lives.
Bret Douglas
Chattanooga
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Perhaps Bret Douglas already knows there are more auto fatalities in the U.S.A. each year, (from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) than the 31,000 gun deaths he cited (without source).
Since Bret and the anti-gunners are so serious about saving lives, I hope they are making good progress banning automobiles (which should be first on their list, as their life-saving "logic" would have it).
This type of "logic" just doesn't work in the gun debate - it is flawed deduction (see above example). Heck, Chicago bans guns - that place is a shining example of how such a ban saves lives (yeah - that was sarcasm). The criminals will not care about a ban/control/laws/etc.
We have a right to bear arms in the U.S.A. Guns don't kill people - people kill people - some shootings are justified, others are perpetrated by criminals. Most gun owners are not criminals. Truth.
Now, go pick apart my grammar and spelling, and forget about the point and solid rebuttal being made. Call me names or something as a distraction, at the very least. I'm going to go shoot some steel targets, after I do this 9-5 thing.
Jimmy Dotson
Ooltewah
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If you think outlawing knives is impossible, just check out England.
Dwayne Cales
Hixson