Gun Control and Gang Shootings

The shootings of 12-year-old Richard Bautista and 3-year-old Stephanie Kuhen are indeed the work of inhuman and conscienceless people. Your Sept. 27 article on the condition of young Richard asks, “How could this happen? How could someone open fire on a car on the freeway?” However, it is a certainty that these questions will appear with growing frequency as more and more young bodies are stuffed into pine boxes in the future.

The rest of the civilized Western World knows the answer. Only the U.S. with its Wild West philosophy and penchant for things violent is still wringing its hands and asking why. What is the point of being the “freest” nation on Earth when a large segment of the population is not only incapable of understanding freedom but in fact takes advantage of it? How do we make available a plethora of military weapons to a young, ignorant, arrogant and undisciplined group that is trying to exist in a society of “haves” and increasingly “have nots” and who already, with pride, hold a large number of citizens in abject daily fear for their lives, without realizing the consequences?

If the majority of Americans cannot live without their guns; if they really want to believe the asinine arguments of the NRA supporters, so be it. Accept the consequences but for God’s sake don’t keep asking “why is this happening.” If on the other hand the experiences of civilization mean anything at all and we can ignore the ludicrous and specious statements by the NRA, then let us loudly support the spokespeople for gun control and kick out those against it.

TIMOTHY MORTON

Orange

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* Regarding Sept. 21 letters, “Gang Slaying of 3-Year-Old”: Two people are really naive when they relate gun control to this meaningless slaying. California has more gun control than most states or countries, and this obviously is not the solution. Every time someone is shot, we scream gun control, gun control and more gun control. Isn’t it about time we started to look at gang control and eliminate these animals from our society before we resort to vigilante actions?

WILLIAM J. MARCY

Burbank

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* A letter writer states that racism is “wild and rampant in Los Angeles and America” (Sept. 27). She is right, and she is part of it. The city’s reaction to the killing in Cypress Park is not because the victim was white. And yes, the outrage would have been as great if the victims were not white. As an example, I recall the senseless killing of three children on Halloween in 1993 in Pasadena. I was outraged, as were the press and community. Gangs and the damage they do are the problem, regardless of color, race, or any other characteristic.

DAVID RICE

Pasadena