Letters: Controlling guns

Re “Senate agreement propels gun bill,” April 10, and “Obama makes appeal for gun reform,” April 9

The Republicans in the Senate who promised to filibuster any proposed new gun control legislation before backing down this week apparently have no shame and have lost all sense of right and wrong. Republicans’ egregious overuse of the filibuster in recent years seems to have led them to believe that this is just business as usual.

I personally question the intelligence or motivation of anyone who is against the common-sense and critically needed gun control measures that have been proposed, but for those who promised to filibuster, I also question their hearts. They deserve to be condemned for their actions by all reasonable Americans.

Gertrude Barden

Porter Ranch

Gun control is a complex and emotional issue. Polls indicate that a majority of Americans favor some form of control beyond what’s currently in place.

To avoid debate and discussion for so long most likely reflects a lack of intestinal fortitude by some politicians, from both parties, who are afraid they may lose their jobs. Political expediency is a sad route to take when it takes priority over the lives of innocent Americans.

It is also curious that the party that desires to rehabilitate its image fails to seize the opportunity.

Paul Shubunka

Santa Clarita

Re “Student charged in college attack,” April 10

The stabbings of 14 people on Tuesday at a Houston-area community college by an apparently demented person shows that the proposed gun control measures in Congress would do nothing to stop such people from trying to kill by any means, including with knives, hatchets, bombs and so on.

The proposed gun control package would be a hardship on law-abiding citizens who have a gun for hunting, target shooting or self-defense. It would not protect us from these demented people who just want to kill for no apparent reason.

Raiford Langford

Sherman Oaks

The Newtown, Conn., shooter left 28 people dead (including himself and his mother) and two others injured but alive.

The Texas knife attacker left 14 wounded and no one dead.

There is a lesson there for those who are not afraid to see it.

Alex Magdaleno

Camarillo

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