By Tom Quiner

A furious debate rages.

The Des Moines Register ran a Quiner’s Diner essay (“Gosnell trial exposes myths of abortion”) in the Tuesday edition of the paper. As expected, liberals were enraged. They sputtered and castigated the Register for running my piece.

One of the liberal responders made a major goof. Her name is Toni. Here is what she said:

“In 2010 there were 19,392 suicide death by guns, and 14,078 homicide deaths by guns. Yet Conservatives don’t consider these deaths to be important enough to have any gun regulations. In the Iraq and Afghanistan wars 48,430 American soldiers have died or been wounded. There were 1,455,590 Iraqi deaths. All these deaths aren’t considered a “modern day holocaust by Conservatives? No, Republicans love war because it is good for business and politics. Why don’t these children and grown-ups matter? Why do Conservatives insist gun laws won’t stop any killings, and yet they insist an anti-abortion law will stop the baby killings? It didn’t before. You can’t change your reasoning about laws depending on which killings you are talking about.”

A loyal Quiner’s Diner reader, Alan, who blogs under the moniker of xPraetorius, responded with his usual concision and irrefutable logic:

“Toni: this post is so dumb as to make it ridiculous to have to respond. You say that, and I quote you: “Conservatives don’t consider these deaths to be important enough to have any gun regulations.”

However, I’m glad that — AGAIN! — you equate abortion with gun violence. I encourage you to continue to use this line of reasoning, because that’s exactly how WE in the pro-life movement view abortion. You know what else? A serious movement across the country to get rid of the horror of abortion would signal a greater realization of, and appreciation for, the preciousness of life. Guess what else would happen right along with that: a decrease in gun violence.

In the meantime, Toni: What do you propose that we or anyone else do about that pesky constitutional amendment — you know, the second one? — the one that GUARANTEES everyone’s right — all the way up there with free speech — to own a gun?

You say that more than 33,000 deaths each year come from gun violence, and that somehow that’s the fault of Republicans? Are you SERIOUS? You have no clue what you’re talking about!

WAY more than 99% of ALL these deaths come at the hands of someone using a HANDgun. The much-maligned “assault weapon” participates in so few of these deaths as to be statistically insignificant. Yet NONE of the Democrat-sponsored legislation addressed handguns. ALL the Democrat-sponsored legislation proposed to limit or outlaw guns — so-called “assault weapons” — that participate in almost NO gun violence. Looks as though the DEMOCRATS are not at all concerned with gun violence.

About gun laws: as they have been relaxed over the past twenty years, mass shootings and all other types of gun violence have decreased significantly. More than 30 percent overall, and more tha 30 percent for mass shootings. If you want to reduce gun violence, the FACTS and the STATISTICS suggest that you should make gun ownership a LOT easier.

Deaths in a war are, obviously, different from deaths in peacetime. You sound like another of those who would suggest that in a war, we should do what we can to make it neat and tidy and sane and humane. Another flight far from reality, Toni! At least in OUR lifetimes, war will never be pretty or clean. Robert E. Lee’s quote is handy here: “It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”

Thanks for the lively exchange of ideas.