In Jim Coull’s Sunday guest commentary on gun control, he states, “There are crazy people in this country who will find a way to commit acts of violence whether by guns, trucks, knives or bombs. … This is a terrible price to pay for freedom, but the alternative is government tyranny as the ultimate control of our society. No thanks.”

I submit the following:

1. There are many countries in this world that have neither tyranny nor anywhere near the violence we experience in the U.S.

2. The problem of mass shootings in the U.S. is a relatively recent one. We’ve heard the term “the deadliest gun massacre in modern U.S. history” too many times over the past decade. What has changed to cause this? I’d love to see studies done on this subject. But Congress in 1997 passed the “Dickey Amendment,” effectively barring the national Center for Disease Control and Prevention from studying firearm violence.

3. You worry about tyranny, Jim, I worry about children and parents who watch school shootings on TV and know that could be their school another time. Parents must get buzzed into their children’s schools, because there are door locks and cameras. At airports and large gatherings, we all must submit to scans of our bodies and bags. All of those cameras, security guards and metal detectors cost money that we’re all paying. Then, there are the physical and emotional costs to the victims, their families and the first responders. Jim would call that the price of freedom. Doesn’t feel like freedom to me.