The Cincinnati Enquirer Wouldn't Publish My Letter.

I really do understand why the Cincinnati Enquirer wouldn't publish a letter that seems to advocate murder. Even so, I gave it a try.

Thinking Large On Guns

Gun issues are back in the news (“Obama steers clear of action on gun restrictions,” March 16). And, naturally, the National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre had something to say on the topic.

It’s my opinion that both men have failed to “think large” on this complicated and contentious national safety issue.

Unlike them, I think large. Here’s an idea for a law that will stop violence and crime throughout our society, no matter many guns we all own. We could enact the law in Ohio, perhaps with Cincinnati taking a leadership position, then sit back and enjoy watching the rest of the 50 states embrace it.

Simply stated, the law would allow all Ohioans one no-crime murder. That’s right. We should de-criminalize a FIRST killing. “Wait,” you’re thinking, “Our state would drown in murders.” Not so!

Under this law, murders would stop. How? Because we would all save our freebie murder for when we really, really, really need it. The fact is, we would probably never even use it. Not only would this law reduce, even stop, violence. It would return us to a vastly more civil and polite society. Who among us would yell at a customer service representative from, perhaps, the cable company, when that phone rep could be at our house in twenty minutes with a shotgun?

Is there a student anywhere who would dream of challenging a professor on some obscure aspect of Elizabethan literature, when the professor may decide at that very moment to cash in her freebie and use the Glock in her bag?

What husband would refuse to go to a party just because the Reds are on TV, knowing that his wife has easy access to the chainsaw in the garage?

Would you toss a finger at that man who just cut you off with a no-signal lane-change on Glenway Avenue, when that huge SUV he’s driving can be instantly turned into a lethal weapon?

Let me end with a family example. Let’s say you’re having a bad day. You feel frustrated, irritable. You catch your child eating that last piece of cake you’ve saved for yourself. It’s a minor infraction, but you over-react and ground the child for a week. With this law in place, you’d think twice about that grounding, knowing your little darling could burst into your bathroom and toss a plugged-in radio into your bath while you’re in it.