I read the letter “Guns And Safety” in the Nov. 29 issue of the Weekly and felt compelled to respond to Josh Welch’s comments.

In my opinion, strident, inflammatory rhetoric such as Welch’s (guns as killing machines) serves to do nothing but further divide us in terms of gaining understandings regarding varying backgrounds and cultures around this country.

I am a committed Socialist-Democrat, but I have spent a number of years reading books, articles and talking with people who have grown up in totally different circumstances than mine. This has included discussions with gun owners, both on the left and the right. By reading, by asking questions and listening to folks who have grown up in entirely different circumstances then mine, I have gained insights and understandings about why others think and feel differently then I do.

None of this has changed my core values and instincts, but it has helped me not to judge nor condemn others so often who I don’t agree with and has been helping me learn a bit on the value of compromise.

I truly believe that until we can all start talking and listening to others viewpoints with empathy and compassion, we will never come close to being together as a people or as a nation. Let’s be careful about our tone and maybe we can start a semblance of healing.

N. Burton

Eugene