School Shooting and Gun Control

A boy was killed at my school on Jan. 21. I graduated from Fairfax 30 years ago, but it’s still my school.

Your article (Jan. 22) focused on keeping guns out of school, an obvious first step that does have to be done. But despite the American obsession with easy solutions for difficult problems, no metal detector or security guards will solve this problem. Getting rid of guns--like getting rid of drugs--isn’t even the real problem, much less the real solution. The real problem is trying to understand how our social structure has broken down to the point that a 16-year-old kid has to carry a .357 magnum to protect himself on the bus. That is a much more complex and dangerous issue that needs a much more careful look in the mirror. And we had better take that look too, because if we don’t, the boy who was killed at my school will only be the first in a long line.

BART BRAVERMAN

Los Angeles