Gun, Nuclear Threats

* Gun violence has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Physicians for Social Responsibility fully supports the reasonable measures to curb gun violence outlined in a recent series of Los Angeles Times editorials. We wish to clarify the perception of our work (Dec. 3).

While the Cold War has ended, and public perception of the threat has diminished, the actual threat from weapons of mass destruction remains and perhaps is growing, as many recent articles in The Times on proliferation issues in general and the North Korean nuclear program in particular have pointed out. We oppose the instruments of societal destruction in all their forms, whether it be the global threat from nuclear weapons or the massive proliferation of guns in our streets. We invite all to join efforts to abolish the threat from handguns and assault weapons as well as to eliminate nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons through the support of such measures as a comprehensive nuclear test ban and global ratification of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

ROBERT C. WESLEY JR. MD

Co-President, Los Angeles Physicians

for Social Responsibility