The Jan. 2 letter by Ray Shamlin, “Is Gun Control the Answer?” misses the point. No, controlling guns (especially semi-automatic and automatic weapons) does not help the mentally ill, but it does remove the means by which they can conduct such severe and sadistic massacres on our children.
He reiterates the same old story as the NRA recently did and it is simply insulting. It is not surprising since it seems that, as a nation, we have become insensitive to violence and hate. This is not a proud time to be American. What kind of society condones the possession of weapons that can slaughter dozens of innocent children in seconds? Guns were made to kill!
Tell me: Why do so many think arming themselves to the teeth will make them safer? There will always be crazy people in this world. But how do you detect them ahead of time? Removing the "weapons of mass destruction," which these automatic weapons certainly are, will reduce, if not prevent, the severity of harm these people wish to inflict. Is this not common sense? So, why do our leaders and so many followers sidestep the issue?
Nations that have imposed gun restrictions have none of these types of killings and almost no gun violence. How many innocent children must die, before we realize this simple logic and take real action to protect our families?
Sure, we can put more armed guards in schools, but are we also going to line our theaters and malls with security and body scans as well? Will we let our nation become a police state for our simple lack of common sense? Sure, we can have stricter background checks, but need I remind you that this madman obtained the weapons from his mother.
It is time for every human being to stand up against the powerful lobbyists and the fear-mongering of crazy gun owners. We need to restrict access to automatic and semi-automatic weapons severely and we need to remove the existing weapons from our communities. We need to contact our politicians to act now and not wait until inevitable slaughter of more innocent children.
Anything less is the sign of a sick, decaying society.
— Rudranath Beharrysingh
Weaverville
Arming Americans may not make all Americans safer but it is clear that disarming Americans will make many Americans less safe while at the same time doing nothing to address criminal violence.