Friday, May 14, 2010

Guns and Baseball in New Jersey

The New Jersey Star Ledger published an interesting letter to the editor concerning a controversy surrounding the local baseball league.

I was disappointed to read that the board of the South Orange-Maplewood Baseball Committee decided to reject the offer of a legitimate business to sponsor one of their teams. Did they give this serious consideration, or was it something that didn’t agree with their agenda?

I see that the township of Maplewood won’t let a licensed gun dealer sponsor a youth baseball team. Yet the league permits a liquor store to sponsor a team even though drunk drivers are responsible for 24,000 deaths and 100,000 injuries on the highways each year. When the statistics are added up, legal alcohol kills far more people each year in the United States than do both legal and illegal guns.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the writer of this letter, at least if I understand his point. He says the little league should be sponsored by both a liquor store and a gun shop. I say it should be sponsored by neither.

If the question is should they accept the liquor store if they deny the gun shop, I agree they shouldn't. That makes no sense to me.

Another point of disagreement I had with the letter is the idea of guns being as American as baseball. I read his rationale, and must admit I found it wanting.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

1 comment:

  1. I've got no problem with any legal business--even the gun shop--sponsoring a kids' athletic team or activity.

    Of course, I object to yet another attempt to equate cars with guns. Even the gunloons don't buy it.

    --JadeGold

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