Gun Tragedy in Sacramento

How many gun-related massacres are needed to convince our legislators that effective gun control is necessary to prevent these atrocities? Must it take mass murders in a Stockton schoolyard, a San Diego fast-food restaurant, a Montreal university and now a Sacramento appliance store (“3 Hostages, 3 Gunmen Die in Sacramento Store Siege,” front page, April 5) to wake up our government officials? These human tragedies confirm the unfortunate fact that our country’s present system regarding the sale of guns is shamefully deficient.

Mass murders such as the April 4 incident in Sacramento, which left six dead and 11 others injured, will not go away on their own. We cannot turn away from the truth any longer. Until serious gun control laws are enacted, these terrible tragedies will continue and more and more innocent people will perish.

Who do we have to blame for these mass murders? Sure, the direct blame must go to the gunmen themselves, but are they really the ones responsible for these killings? How are madmen able to purchase arms? Perhaps the blame for these mass killings should be placed on our government, which makes it easy for anyone who wants a gun to buy one. Until strict laws are passed, senseless mass murders will continue to fill newspaper headlines.

DARRIN HURWITZ, Age 15

Woodland Hills