Re "Selling guns from home OK in Holladay"(Tribune, July 11):

Liquor store, halfway house, lacy-thong boutique in my neighborhood? No way! Gun dealer? Not a problem. Wow!

According to Phil Blomquist: "Guns will protect that neighborhood. Guns are not the problem, people are the problem."

First, there is no evidence that guns make anyone safer. Lots of hyperbolic rhetoric, but no evidence.

Second, following this logic: Fireworks are not the problem. Explosives are not the problem. Meth, heroin, alcohol, crack? Not the problem. Porn? Napalm? Nuclear weapons? Not the problem.

According to the National Institute of Justice, in 2005, 11,346 persons were killed by firearm violence, and 477,040 persons were victims of a crime committed with a firearm. Most murders in the United States are committed with firearms, especially handguns.

In 2006, firearms were used in 68 percent of murders, 42 percent of robbery offenses and 22 percent of aggravated assaults. Yes, these murders and crimes (also suicides) were committed by people. People with guns.

People with guns are the problem. So let's continue to cover the Earth with 'em, shall we?

Marvin Hamilton

Salt Lake City