Karl Malone’s next vacation home

I was “appalled” to read Will Nobauer’s letter regarding your article on Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife (HCN, 7/23/07). In the letter he calls these people “stupid looking white-trash rednecks” and “psychotic mental retards.” Such a wonderful example of intelligent discourse. It came as no surprise to me to find out that good old Will […]

The concerns about solar panel arrays being ugly is a bit ironic, as viewed from the developmental sprawl and congestion in and around our cities (HCN, 7/23/07). However, are there any examples of “community solar,” whereby neighbors have combined efforts to locate a group of panels on a compatible site? Dan Rathmann Cincinnati, Ohio This […]

Your cover story asks the question, “Is it time to re-examine the West’s extraordinary fascination with firearms?” Uhmmmm … Extraordinary? The West is rather large and many of us live a long way from the nearest sheriff. Our stupid government has put just enough pressure on the drug suppliers to raise the price of drugs […]

In his Aug. 6 Editor’s Note, John (Mecklin) describes Ray Ring’s firearms package as “remarkably even-handed and hope it can provide a starting point … for discussion. …” Right. I didn’t realize HCN was becoming a humor periodical. An “even-handed” presentation should characterize Second Amendment supporters as other than quirky Western kooks and addled wingnuts […]

At first, the article was interesting to me, but after reading the whole thing it seems a bit slanted. I’m an avid shooter and hunter, and it seems to paint me as a “nut.” I’m a sane guy out here in the West who enjoys hunting and shooting with my kids to put food on […]

I couldn’t help but write when I ran into this painfully antihistorical passage in your article: “In a phone interview, Professor Burbick says the gun-rights movement began not only in reaction to gun laws, but also as a reflection of white men’s anxiety about the civil rights movement. Right-wing politicians have deliberately exploited that anxiety, […]

Thanks for examining an aspect of Western culture that receives less coverage than it deserves. Responsible gun ownership includes acceptance of safeguards that are essential to the maintenance of a peaceful society. The paranoia and fear driving this small, feverish band of gun zealots is one of the strongest arguments for strengthening regulations. Their willingness […]

I would think that an independent-minded journal like HCN would not so easily fall prey to anti-gun rhetoric more befitting the New York Times. Specifically: “… a reflection of white men’s anxiety about the civil rights movement”? Tell that to my Hispanic and Indian hunting friends (most of whom vote Democratic) but who support gun […]

Mr. Ring, my right to personal self-defense is not negotiable. It is not subject to “re-examination,” looking at from another angle, reconsideration, modification, or “sensible” restriction based on false premises and false promises of safety by a government that cannot or will not provide it. The notion that “no one is talking about confiscation of […]

I’m a native Westerner and a gun owner, but I didn’t really have a problem with this article. Gun ownership is part of the America heritage and especially so in the West. However, that doesn’t preclude responsibility. We, as a nation and a gun culture, need to find that fine line between the freedom to […]

As a longtime subscriber and sometime contributor to High Country News, I always look forward to your feature reporting – especially when the reporter is Ray Ring. But I have seldom been not only so disappointed by an article’s obvious slant, but also so absolutely astonished by the lack of breadth in Ring’s information-gathering (it […]

“Guns R Us” was a hatchet job of the first order. Ray Ring used the civil rights infringement of Red’s Trading Post as a fig leaf to present a blatant anti-gun screed. Take this quote: “The seats are mostly filled; some of the people are drinking beers they’ve carried in from the saloon. They’ve come […]