Vt. man wants "legal permits" to kill hunters

The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press ran a letter by a man that calls for the killing of hunters.

In his letter, Ethan A.H. Sims of Shelburne, writes about the opening of moose season in Vermont. Then he writes, "I suggest that before the next annual killing season, other residents be awarded legal permits to kill hunters who will be out to kill these beautiful, non-destructive animals. Or the government could just rule out of all this primitive killing."

Everybody has the right to his or her opinion and I certainly don't hold it against Mr. Sims for being an anti-hunter. I think he's misguided and we are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to our beliefs on hunting, but he still has a right to his opinion.

What floors me, however, is that the Free Press chose to run this letter. Granted they issued an apology online and the letter has been removed from the paper's Web site. But how did it make the page in the first place?

Editorial page editor Aki Soga wrote on the Free Press' Web site, "that violates the standards of the Free Press by advocating for violence against hunters. The letter has been taken down. We apologize for our error in judgement."

Wow!