Letters to the Editor: Sandy Hook families got $73 million. More gun makers should have to pay

To the editor: I am sure there is plenty of commentary on the $73-million settlement between gun maker Remington and the families of nine people killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 — much of it expressing relief, much of it indignation.

The fact is that this extremely righteous settlement over the sale of AR-15-style weapons — which exist solely to kill as many humans as possible in the least amount of time — is way overdue.

For many years now people have been taking car manufacturers to court and winning huge payouts. The same goes for cigarette companies. The same goes for toy manufacturers — remember “Lawn Darts”?

It’s really difficult to think of any industries in which manufacturers have not been sued when their products were linked to the deaths of children or adults. And, unlike guns, those products were not meant to kill people.

Former President George W. Bush was a wimp for letting the National Rifle Assn. pressure him into signing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005. This allowed another 17 years of murder porn to be splashed across the front pages of newspapers and on television screens across the world.

So, I say it’s about time gun manufacturers were held responsible for the carnage their weapons cause.

Paula Del, Brentwood

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To the editor: While the settlement between Sandy Hook families and Remington is welcome and long overdue, we should remember another group with responsibility for that tragedy that has yet to be held accountable — Congress.

A federal ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons was enacted in 1994. Unfortunately it expired in 2004, and efforts to renew it were blocked. In 2013, a 60-40 vote in the Senate ended the final attempt to renew the ban.

Many of the politicians who voted to block the ban are still in Congress.

The mother of the Sandy Hook killer was able to legally purchase a previously banned AR-15-style gun because of the actions of these politicians. The Sandy Hook killer would never have been able to get off 154 shots in less than five minutes without the help of these politicians, who need to be held to account.

John La Grange, Solana Beach