Our best letter last month came from Steven in Forsythe County:

With a homicide rate of about 5 per 100,000 (lower than in the 1970s and 1980s), 99.99% of Americans did not die from gun violence in recent years; Americans are 10 times more likely to die from unintentional injuries than from homicide. 99.999% of school children are not killed in school shootings; 100 times as many children are killed in auto accidents. People are emotional and respond to stories; we're not designed to analyze big numbers. When people use one anecdote to convince others why we should have guns for protection or get rid of guns for protection, it may seem convincing, but the argument may not be as strong as it seems.

I have Libertarian tendencies and don't think the government needs to tell people how to live their lives. I don't think changing gun laws are going to make people appreciably more or less safe. I do think that being a role model is an appropriate way to try to influence others. I think our country would have a greater positive influence in the world if we focused more on being a good role model and less on using guns and violence to influence life in other peoples' countries. 

As far as I am concerned, you should decide for yourself whether having a weapon that could protect or injure you or a family member is something you want to keep around. I don't have guns; I don't need guns to feel safe in America.

Steven R. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D.
Forsyth County
Registered Libertarian

Professor of Dermatology, Pathology and Social Sciences & Health Policy
Wake Forest School of Medicine