Reactions Vary on Caltrans Shooting

* I was witness to the terrible shootings in Orange on Dec. 18, and several thoughts have stayed with me.

First and foremost: What are weapons such as these doing in the hands of a civilian at all?

I don’t care what the gun folks say, an AK-47 was designed for one purpose: killing people.

If Arturo Reyes Torres did not have access to weapons such as these, these innocent people would not have been killed. Would he have grabbed an ax or knife and gone on such a rampage?

Only the accessibility of these guns allowed this to happen. I am outraged that the gun advocates fight for the right of civilians to have weapons of mass murder.

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN

Orange

* Over the last few days we have seen coverage of yet another multiple homicide at a government facility. This time it has more impact because it happened in our backyard.

An expert says that workplace violence occurs more prevalently at government facilities because public employees tend to feel that they are entitled to their jobs. This false notion is abetted by a crazy quilt of civil service laws and public employee union agreements.

In our local Caltrans tragedy, an employee was fired for doing something that had been a common practice for years. Scrap had long been sold for cash, and the money had been put in a kitty for parties. I’ve seen no suggestion of anyone doing it for private gain.

Caltrans supervisors not only condoned the practice but also managed it. Such practices not only financed parties (rationalized as morale boosters), but also made it easier for managers and supervisors to sustain budget projections based upon artificially high current expenditures. Thus, the practice became very self-serving for all, from top to bottom. Until it ended, bureaucracy-style, that is.

The growth of workplace violence in government facilities argues for privatization. Lacking the feedback mechanism of profit, governmental agencies lapse into highly impersonal organizations that foster ill feelings up and down the chain of command.

On the one hand, employees believe that the taxpayers owe them a job for life, and on the other hand they wilt under a suffocating bureaucracy. When false expectations rub against errant policies, something ultimately has to give. Increasingly, when that occurs, violence is involved.

BRUCE CRAWFORD

Fountain Valley

* Reporting by The Times and other media on the deadly shooting rampage of fired Caltrans employee Arturo Reyes Torres at the Caltrans yard in Orange is typical of how the media deal with such tragedies.

Adding to the sensationalism about the shootings was the fact that Torres used “an AK-47 assault rifle.” Though this is a technically incorrect description of the weapon used, any version of this firearm transfixes reporters and editors whenever and wherever it is mentioned.

Anyone wielding such a weapon is deemed by the media to be almost invincible, the implication being that such firearms are simply too deadly to be owned by mere ordinary citizens. Hence, the editorial comment in your coverage of the incident: “The rampage devastated the offices of the state transportation agency and proved another shattering example of the power of a disgruntled ex-employee with a big gun.”

With such biased and hysterical reporting, no wonder so much of the public has a poor understanding of firearms issues and legislation today.

JAMES R. BENSON

Aliso Viejo