Guns and Death of Tyisha Miller

* Re “Calls for Justice Mix With Grief,” Jan. 10: The death of Tyisha Miller is a tragic event and certainly an inquiry is called for, indeed demanded. The Rev. Dewayne Butler stated that Miller “has a face, a personality, a family, a community.”

The young lady also had a gun. Until this country understands that guns kill, children will continue to die, armed children will continue to kill and the police, faced with armed individuals of whatever age and color, will shoot.

Wake up, America. Guns are as big and possibly bigger than any racial problem that we have. Miller would probably be alive had she not felt it necessary to have a gun with her on an innocent outing with her friends. Ask yourself: Why does a 19-year-old, “energetic, quick-smiling teenager, active in her church,” need to be armed with a gun?

EMMA MILLAR

Los Angeles

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Eulia Love, Ron Settles, Rodney King, Danny Ray Smith, Tyisha Miller. Coincidence or historical pattern?

JEFFREY B. CARMACK

Los Angeles

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Regarding Patt Morrison’s Jan. 6 column: As an “armed civilian” I deeply resent the implication that my skill and judgment as they pertain to handgun usage are probably less than that of the four Riverside police officers. How does one safely arouse someone sleeping in a car with a gun in his or her lap?

First you use the loud hailer, built into the patrol car, from a safe distance. You next take one patrol car up to the sleeping girl’s car and place your push bumper against the back of her car and give it an abrupt jolt. You then park your patrol car close to the young lady’s car and approach the car and break out the rear driver’s-side window. Without waiting to see what happens, you duck behind your patrol car. After a short period of time you get on your PA system and tell the now-awake young lady to throw out her gun and everyone goes home happy.

The fact that not one of these trained police officers had the judgment to handle this situation in a safe manner is a very strong argument in favor of the right to keep and bear arms.

JERRY PARSONS

Long Beach