Letters to the Editor: Religious leaders need to follow Pope Francis’ lead and denounce gun manufacturers

To the editor: Centuries ago, Pope Innocent II banned the use of the then-new crossbow against Christians, sadly limiting its use to non-Christians only. What we need today is a pronouncement from all of our most highly placed religious leaders to denounce the manufacture, sale and purchase of any and all firearms (“Pope Leo calls for end to ‘pandemic of arms’ as he prays for victims of Minnesota school shooting,” Aug. 31).

Pope Francis was correct: The firearms industry is a “merchant of death,” empowered by all who facilitate it, and the political leadership that is in the hip pocket of this industry are its salesmen.

Ken Johnson, Santa Barbara

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To the editor: When I read the report of Pope Leo XIV’s pained words, “Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world,” other words immediately came to mind. Namely, John F. Kennedy’s at his inaugural address: “Asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth, God’s work must truly be our own.”

Bob Wieting, Simi Valley

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To the editor: The Los Angeles Times reported that an El Dorado County fire captain has been charged with two counts of homicide: his girlfriend and her son, a second-grader — the first in anger, the second to eliminate a witness (“Cal Fire captain fatally shot his girlfriend, then killed her son to cover it up, prosecutors say,” Aug. 27). For every school shooting in this country, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of shootings like this one. Someone, overwhelmingly male, with poor anger and impulse control, shoots and kills other people. Two weeks earlier, in Brooklyn, N.Y., a shooting erupted in a nightclub that killed three people and wounded nine, mirroring the kind of carnage we just saw in Minneapolis.

Young men go into entertainment destinations armed, just in case their rivals show up armed. A fire captain is alleged to have a gun at home, just in case his girlfriend (or whoever) ticks him off.

This is not about AR-15-style “weapons of war.” This is about availability and attitude; 340 million people, 400 million guns and a whole lot of psychologically and socially maladjusted people. This is the country we now inhabit and the country the Supreme Court, in its dubious wisdom, has enabled and blessed.

Mitch Paradise, Los Angeles