mailbox / By North Coast Journal Readers

Stash Your Gun

(Feb. 4, 2010)  Editor:

Courtney Weaver is a friend of mine. And a friend of probably half the people in Humboldt County. So I have to ask, was Courtney recently at war? Was she in an inner city on some well known gang turf? Well, I haven’t been in Arcata for about six months, but I thought Courtney has been chillin’ around town, doing her thing performing with St. John and the Sinners.

So I must have missed something, because I really can’t understand why she just got shot in the face (“The Hum,” Jan. 28). Shot in the face. Courtney got shot. In the face. In Arcata. Can someone tell me why her significant other (ex-significant other, now) had a handgun available to shoot her in the face? Can someone tell me why anyone would have a household gun in Arcata?

Sure, maybe all of you hunters, growers and paranoid people need your guns so when the shit goes down or when the duck flies by you can flex your trigger finger and send some bullets on paths of destruction. You’ve got to recreate with firearms or protect your cash or whatever. But can we acknowledge what happens when people keep guns around? Hello! People, our loved ones wind up getting shot.

We are all so lucky that the injuries Courtney sustained were not fatal. She is a loved community member and it is devastating enough to know that she has been assaulted in such a terrible manner. I am frightened by the story and so upset that a friend and gifted, loving person was a victim of crazy senseless violence.

Firearms are completely unnecessary for all of us. Yep, I’m saying it. They’re unnecessary for you, the hunter, for you, the protector, and for you, the soldier. Call me crazy, but I want a nonviolent world. I hate that whole amendment about the “right to bear arms.” I think it should be the “right to a safe, healthy and peaceful existence.” So I say take your guns and stick them where the sun doesn’t shine.

Emily Hobelmann, Honolulu, Hawaii

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