Readers React: Holding parents responsible for gun safety

To the editor: I salute City Atty. Mike Feuer for filing criminal charges against the mother of a teenager who was found with guns at school. He has a long record of working to end gun violence in our state. He is taking an approach that works: prevention. (“Mother charged in teen’s possession of gun at school,” Oct. 15)

Let’s do all that we can to stop the carnage of gun violence by preventing the use of firearms by people who should never have them in the first place.

Parents are responsible for their children. I would assume and hope this act of filing criminal charges against the mother will encourage parents to store and lock their guns properly.

Women Against Gun Violence, where I am a board member, is working on this very issue with a program called the TALK Project. We are working with parents to educate them about the dangers of firearms to their children.

Sheila Goldberg, Venice

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To the editor: An attorney who has represented the National Rifle Assn. — which has said we don’t need more gun laws, we need only to enforce the ones we’ve got — now takes issue with Feuer for enforcing the gun laws we have.

How is the NRA different from the tobacco industry, which has been taken to task for killing thousands of people and ruining millions of lives in the name of profit?

One could argue that the NRA should be brought up on racketeering and public corruption charges for its incestuous relationship with lawmakers. Through payments and threats to lawmakers, the NRA has put legislation in place that shields gun manufacturers and dealers from injury and wrongful-death lawsuits, prohibits federal funding for research on gun violence and permits assault weapons, guns-everywhere laws, background check loopholes and straw-buyer purchases.

We need to elect a lot more people like Feuer.

Linda Kranen, Carlsbad

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