LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
St. Ignace JV Team Showed Respect
To the Editor:

Last Wednesday I attended a memorial service for Leonard "Butch" France. The church was full, with standing room only.

I sat to the side on a chair next to Chris "Iffer" Marshall. With him were two rows of the Junior Varsity football team. They had their jerseys on and were there to support a team member grieving the loss of his grandfather.

Before the memorial service began, one of the team members came over to their coach and asked if they should give up their seats and go stand in the back. Coach Marshall said that would be fine and he too got up and moved to the back of the church.

I was very touched, first to see the team there and then to see what they quietly did. It shows they are being taught teamwork, not only on the field but also in other areas of their lives. Good job! They are to be commended.

Debbie Garcia

St. Ignace Gun Control Will Not Solve the Problem To the Editor:

I am writing in response to the letter titled "Shooting tragedies signal demand for gun control" in the October 12 issue.

Yes, it is very tragic that children are dying in our schools and streets. However, I have yet to see what all this gun control will solve.

Honestly ask yourself if you truly believe that these criminals who are killing people really care if the weapon they use is illegal. Yes, criminals should not be allowed to possess firearms and the last time I checked, felons cannot, so we already have gun control for the felons committing these horrible crimes. Somebody once told me, "If you set a gun on a rock in the woods, it will never kill anyone until someone picks it up and fires. On the same hand, they may place that gun on the ground and kill that person with that rock." So should we also outlaw rocks, knives, and cars? More people are killed in car accidents than by guns.

I, like most of my friends, own a gun. It is used for hunting. I also have two children, so my gun remains locked up. I believe if parents would stop being so lazy and paid some attention to their children, it would help more than gun control. Parents, please keep your guns locked up and please teach your children to be responsible when they do go hunting with guns. Teach them early about gun safety. My parents did this for me when I was younger and I have done this with my children, who are 4 and 5, and they understand when playing with toy guns what to do and not do, like never point a weapon at a person. If parents do this, it will help a lot more than most people believe, and more than outlawing guns. If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns. Again, I stress, felons of any type (no matter what their crime, gun related or not ) cannot possess firearms.

Lawrence McQuiston

St. Ignace