Do some research before spouting off

In his Jan. 22 Fence Post letter, Joel Jenkins of Medinah says that it’s “insanity that automatic weapons were/are so readily available to the likes of Jared Loughner.”

Automatic weapons have been heavily regulated since the National Firearms Act of 1934, and have been illegal for retail sale since the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986. Check your facts: Jared Loughner did not use an automatic weapon. To be sure, he did plenty of damage without one.

But I enjoyed Sonja Sporleder’s analogy in her Jan 22 Fence Post letter: A gun cannot be blamed for firing any more than a pen can be blamed for writing a column.

Most of my Fence Post letters include encouragement to readers to do their own research. This letter is no different. If you’re interested in whether gun control works or doesn’t, do some research of your own. Look at crime statistics from before, during, and after federal gun bans. Read studies from both sides of the issue and make your own conclusions. Don’t just spout what you hear on cable news.

Tyler Benjamin

West Chicago