Letters to the Editor: Mass shootings are acceptable in America. So one happened in Monterey Park
To the editor: None of us can claim to be shocked anymore when one of these “2nd Amendment celebrations” known as mass shootings occur. (“Terror at Monterey Park dance studio: What we know about Lunar New Year mass shooting,” Jan. 22)
A reasonable person would have expected something to have been done after after 6- and 7-year-olds were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. But no.
The thing is, in the United States, these shootings are acceptable. If they weren’t acceptable, we wouldn’t accept them. But we do.
Shame on us.
William Elmelund, West Hollywood
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To the editor: “This kind of thing doesn’t happen in my neighborhood,” one individual in Monterey Park was quoted as saying. This is a statement that has been repeated after so many mass shootings.
Another person revealed that he started carrying a gun with him after a Texas mass shooting, evidently in the belief that we can stop gun violence by arming ourselves.
The probability of a mass shooting in any of our neighborhoods is high. We need to realize this and work on a solution.
Conversely, the likelihood of solving this tragic problem by carrying more guns is low. More gun possession in our communities increases the probability of violence.
We, as imperfect human beings, possess lethal weapons that are being used to kill ourselves and others with a frequency that is terrifying.
Joan Horn, Carlsbad
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To the editor: We attach too much importance to motive in a shooting. The point is there’s a person with a grudge who has access to a weapon of mass destruction. That’s it.
Anyone can buy a gun, legally or not.
There will always be people who are angry and want others to suffer as they have. It’s the gun part where we have the power to make changes. The politicians could stop this proliferation of easily accessible guns if they had the courage.
Sandra Trutt, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Enough is enough. When are we going to ban guns? The state of California ought to take extreme measures to restrict or ban guns, the 2nd Amendment be damned.
How many thousands of people are going to be massacred, including schoolchildren, before we admit that the 2nd Amendment is an arcane piece of the Constitution that helps no one?
No other peer country has given their citizens a constitutional right to own guns, and no other peer country has our level of murder and gun violence — not even close.
It’s not rocket science. We are awash in guns and gun violence.
David Tempest, Mar Vista
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To the editor: Willy Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks, replied, “Because that’s where the money is.”
If we asked, “Why do we have these mass killings?” the reply would be, “Because we have guns.”
And if we asked Congress, “Why don’t we have proper gun laws?” the answer would be, “Because that’s where the money is.”
Ted Bacino, Palm Springs
