To the Editor:

Let me start by saying I have two children in school, and I'm just as worried as the next person about what is happening in our schools right now.

I'm not normally one to stand up and voice my opinion, but after reading the letter in the October 12 issue of The St. Ignace News, "Shooting Tragedies Signal A Demand For Gun Control," I decided to take a minute to respond.

I'm wondering if Ms. Schmidt is also willing to put not only more control on guns, but also knives, baseball bats, rope, bare hands, and water?

It's not guns who kill people, it's people who kill people. Every day children are killed, not just with guns, but with knives, bats, rope, and bare hands. If someone is truly intent on hurting or killing someone else, they will do so whether or not they have a gun.

Was there not, just a couple of years ago, a woman who killed her five children, not with a gun, with water. Should we put a ban on water, also?

It is truly devastating what is happening right now in all those schools. It's frightening to think it could happen here. It is not the gun walking into the school and doing this, it is the people who are doing this.

If you were to put more gun control out there, who do you think it would effect? Certainly not the criminals of our country. They will always have the means of getting them illegally. Additional gun control would only take them out of the hands of the lawful homeowners and hunters. This would leave the criminals to do as they please, and leave the lawful person unable to defend themselves and their families.

The problem with children and guns are the parents. Parents need to properly educate their children in proper gun handling, respect, and safety. They also need to know what their children are doing, and what they're watching. If you want to ban something, try the violent video games that glamorize killing people for a sport. Children watching R-rated movies that are meant for adults. Some of the violence in these is brutal. Protecting children starts at home. If the parents aren't a part of educating and protecting their children, nothing will ever change with the violence that plagues our society.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is not who you need to take a stand against. They support guns for use in target shooting, hunting, and personal protection, not the killing of one another.

If these people who are killing people with guns switch to steak knives, do you take a stand against steak knives? It's the people who hurt and kill, not the objects.

If you're going to take a stand, take a stand against criminals and liberal judges, and make harsher sentences for the criminals. Don't let them back on the street to repeat their crimes.

We, as parents, are trying to keep our kids as safe as possible. Taking our guns is not letting us protect our families against the criminals, who will always have guns.

Lisa Kanitz

Hessel