Zinke’s absurd claim

by Lillian Thomas, Missoula

It’s been four months, and I wonder if you’re yet able to provide me with the source for your baseball bat bludgeoning claim? I, your Montana born and raised constituent, flew over 2,000 miles to meet with you in Washington DC and discuss gun violence, the leading cause of death for children and teens in our country. If only I had recorded our conversation, for when you said, “baseball bats cause more deaths than guns…”, my brain vaporized, and I was unable to focus on the subsequent words coming out of your face.

Hellgate High School went into lockdown on the second day of school due to a suspected gun, triggering a lock-in at my son’s school. The following day the first mass school shooting of the year occurred in Georgia, killing four. You say you are, “protecting our kids from the woke agenda”, but vote against laws to protect them from their leading cause of death. 

Montana has ranked in the top five states for suicide deaths for 42 years, and number one in firearm ownership at 66%. Suicide by gun for Montanans is 67%, surpassing the national average by 12%. Between January 2021 and November 2023, there were 955 Montanans who died by suicide, none of them from self-inflicted baseball bat wounds.  

As I await the arrival of your baseball bat bludgeoning statistic source, I continue to advocate against gun violence. I am a concerned Montanan. I am a mother of a school-aged child. I am a friend to Jennifer, who died by suicide 26 years ago. I am a voter, Congressman Zinke, and I am no fool.