Looks like my post attracted the attention of the man himself:
Hey, c’mon fellas, lighten up! Do you get your ramrods all bent out of shape when the fictional crimes are murder? This is just windshields. A lot of us have lost things to gunfire that were a lot more precious than windshields.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing a whole bunch of you at the White Dog on the 15th. Just check your expectations at the door.
White Dog is a restaurant right off my alma mater’s campus. I would actually go, if I weren’t flying back from Reno at that time.
I understand that Mr. Hoffman’s work is one of fiction, and I will admit I have not read it, except for the sample first chapter. I don’t get bent out of shape when fiction portrays murder, but I wouldn’t particularly want to write or read a book where the sympathetic protagonist was a serial killer. While shooting out the windshields of gun owners who are members of organizations to protect their interests does not amount to murder, forgive me if I’m a little indignant about the idea being presented in a sympathetic light.
People have lost more to violence than just a windshield, but neither me, my readers or gun blogging colleagues have anything to do with that. Would it be fair to suggest the American Homebrewer’s Assocation (a fine organization, BTW) is responsible for drunk driving deaths? I don’t think so.
I’m sympathetic to people that have lost loved ones to violence, but that doesn’t mean they get to extract whatever political concessions they want out of me. Taking away the guns of law-abiding people isn’t going to fix the problem.
Some of us have gained much because of gun fire. In fact, I’d go so far to say more has been gained than lost.
Yeah, real funny. If the protaganist was shooting the windshields of those with gay-rights stickers, or pro-choice stickers, that would be real funny. Not.
Ah, yes, the standard response of someone called out on a stupid comment, “It was a joke/an attempt at humor/fictional/etc., I swear!”
It is most certainly true that lots of people have lost many things more important than windshields to gun fire… In that case, Lynn, why are you writing a story glorifying it?