To the editor:

There are 2 “Letters” in the September 7 B-Times that got my attention- for their false and unsupported statements. These highlight the danger of not being informed… or not caring enough about the topic to become informed. The resulting “loose talk” is not just misleading- but dangerous.

Ms. Ernster rales against the B- School District for “implementing a protocol that circumvents parental rights…. Our school district has adopted the RI DOE Protocol for Transgender, Nonconforming and Transitioning students.” She, apparent from her comments, has never read the Policy- that clearly states in every paragraph dealing with the students’ wishes that parents and/or guardians are included in the discussion with school officials- except where the safety of the student at home is compromised. The purpose of the policy- as clearly stated- is to “foster an educational environment that is safe and free from discrimination for ALL students.” What parent would argue that purpose? The RIDOE policy was reinstated after a position of non-enforcement was instituted in 2017 by Secretary Devoss. It is based on the First Amendment’s right to privacy, free speech and freedom of expression in our Constitution.

The same Constitution that Mr. Fletcher uses to the try to convince us that AR 15s are a “right” because they are in “common use” and “save lives”.

A careful review of the topic reveals that there are no reliable estimates for defensive gun use (DGU). The Harvard School of Public Health Study from 2016 estimated between 55K and 80K annual incidents- not the 500K reported by Mr. Fletcher. Kleck and Gertz from Univ. of Florida extrapolate to an estimate of 3.5million incidents/year (but do not show how they arrive at these numbers). The FBI estimated 67.7K annual incidents from 2007-2011. Further, they stated in their report that there were 35 gun related homicides for every 1 “justified homicide.”  Most DGU instances occur in or around the home. Having a dog has been shown (in some surveys) to deter invasions - without loss of life- (Defensive Dog Use)!

Mr. Fletcher argued that the AR 15 is a “common use” firearm and therefore protected by the 2nd amendment. In the FBI’s 2021 firearms survey they report that 2/3 of the 77.5K gun owners own an average of 5 guns per person (about 400M total guns). The firearm in most common use is the hand -gun- NOT the AR 15 (24.6M AR 15 owners). These numbers are quite different from those that Mr. Fletcher cites and uses to support his “logic”.

Public discourse about policy is healthy for a community and a country. If we are to benefit from these discussions- find common ground- we must first agree on the facts that exist and recognize when they don’t. Loose talk is not just a disservice to the topic- it can lead to negative consequences for those who act on those opinions- not fact.

Chris Clyne 

Barrington