This is Viewpoints for Friday, Jan. 15, 2016

Useless action

As one of the top subjects for years, it is first apparent that most killings are not by guns. Knives and blunt instruments are No. 1 and No. 2. What are the chances we could have stopped any of the mass murders? Slim to none. The kid who killed those children in school was not on anybody's radar. The major, who is still alive, killed 12 on a military base. Of all of the killings there was no correlation to any of them. Except the two who were terrorists.

To that end, America is bringing in 100,000 Muslims a year. The facts are clear. Not all Muslims are terrorists, but statistically, that large number is bound to include one too many.

If we look worldwide, the trend of terrorists starts with small groups. They seek to be martyrs so they can be honored upon death.

With the financial turmoil in China, Russia, South America, Korea, Japan and most of Europe, terrorists will flourish. And changing guns laws is meaningless. The record shows millions of guns are readily available by being stolen. I know first hand. My 9 mm Beretta is in the hands of a thief.

-- Joe Hubbard

Macon

Distraction

As a gun owner, I'm sick and tired of the fear and outrage that's surrounding Obama's announcement on gun control. He's not trying to take our guns away, so calm down. Panic about guns just distracts from the things that Obama really is doing, like increased domestic surveillance programs, the unprecedented use of drone strikes and decreased protection for whistle blowers. Those are real, relevant issues, but if you want to complain about background checks, be my guest.

-- Ross C. Hardy

Macon

What's in a name?

Even the name sounds bad. "Midnight Basketball." Why in the world would anyone promote children being anywhere but at home at that hour? I don't care if it is during a school break, summer break or whatever. Even in the summertime children should be home at midnight. This just encourages poor sleep habits that are carried through to school days. I'm sorry, but there is no way to justify this. It's just plain stupid.

-- Randal D. Duckworth

Warner Robins

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 10:02 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Friday, Jan. 15, 2016 ."