Archbishop on Violence

In response to Roger Mahony’s hysteria “Guns, 2; Life, 0,” (Commentary, Feb. 22), I say we’ve had enough! We’ve had enough of his diversion tactics away from the real issue; the overabundance of violent criminals. When will the Mahonys in our country stop whining about guns and do something about criminals? It is a proven fact that restrictions against firearms do nothing to lessen crime. Instead, statistics show that gun restrictions increase violent crime! In every city in this nation where gun laws are the most oppressive, the incidence of violent crime is the highest. This isn’t a coincidence! It’s common sense: Criminals prefer unarmed victims!

When Americans stop blaming guns and start blaming criminals for their crimes, and hold them responsible, then we’ll start seeing the violence on our streets diminish. But it will require us to prosecute those guilty of violent crimes with swift and severe punishment. Perhaps, after purging the overcrowded death rows in our prisons with a steady stream of executions, we will rid ourselves of the repeat offenders who are responsible for the majority of violent crimes. Then Mahony can cry for their souls, instead of our police.

T.J. JOHNSTON, Chairman, Gun Owners ACTION Committee, Anaheim