School Shootings and Gun Control

We are heartsick, mournful, horrified, outraged. Seeing the children’s terror in Littleton, Colo., knowing the parents’ profound loss, we remember the young victims of gun violence who died in Los Angeles County--over a dozen each month--and their families and friends. We are one community.

Ultimately, no matter how many directions fingers are pointed, it’s the gun. We must ban assault-type weapons and large-capacity magazines once and for all, set sensible consumer safety standards that will take junk guns off the market, require childproof safety locks and stop gun trafficking to minors by limiting sales to no more than one gun per month.

ANN REISS LANE, Chair

SUSAN SHAW, Exec. Director

Women Against Gun Violence

Los Angeles

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Are the American people naive enough to think that the parents of the killers knew nothing of what was happening in their garage; that the beliefs of the parents had nothing to do with the boys’ attitudes; and that the “friends” they spared were just lucky? Come on, man!

WILLIAM S. GREENE

Granada Hills

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April 20, 1999: Columbine High School became only the latest gruesome National Rifle Assn. “success story.” How can the champions of unrestricted access to firearms sleep at night?

NEIL CLARK

Long Beach

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The assertion that the NRA and Charlton Heston have “blood on their hands” in the Littleton school shooting (letter, April 22) cannot stand without a reply. The NRA has been at the forefront of firearms safety instruction, law enforcement training, recreation and competition shooting protocol and training and firearms use in defense of home and hearth.

The disaffected youths who perpetrated this outrage used homemade explosive devices akin to fragmentation grenades, made from readily available household materials, as well as firearms presumably left unsecured by their parents. All NRA members’ hearts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those innocents slaughtered in this senseless and preventable tragedy.

PERRY KNEISEL

Redondo Beach

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As an American of African descent and a father of three sons, I am so tired of reading our society’s denial of the problems causing incidents like Littleton. No, it is not the media, guns or rock music. It’s the lack of involvement, control and guidance of our children at home by parents and families. And unfortunately the problem of a few uncontrollable bad seeds out there.

Quite often, the hate of others that children act out was sparked by comments in the home.

DARYL SMITH

Chatsworth

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Much has been said about the importance of school authorities and parents being alerted to indications that a young person is troubled. Also the importance of counseling on how to handle frustration without resorting to violence. I couldn’t agree more. However, nothing has been said about being on the alert and counseling other young people who aggravate or sometimes cause the frustration.

In all the recent school tragedies there are indications that the perpetrators were teased and bullied by others because they were “different.” This does not excuse what they did, but perhaps early intervention could have averted these terrible disasters.

BETTY BRIDGEMAN-SHANNON

Huntington Beach

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We keep looking at the wrong element of this terrifying puzzle. I am convinced that it is not society, school or church where our children learn about life, or the good and bad things of our world: Home is. The parents are the primary teachers and source of information; if this source is missing or corrupted we will continue to see and experience Littleton horrors. You need a license to purchase a weapon, none to be a parent.

COSIMO ROSSETTI

Thousand Oaks

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So what will change because of this horrible incident? Sadly, probably nothing because in America today we love our guns more than we love our kids.

BOB McMAHON

Burbank