Readers React: What students need to do to get more gun-control laws passed: Keep the media’s attention

To the editor: I believe in people power. When citizens march, write letters and call elected officials, change is possible. If we want to curtail gun violence everywhere, we need to keep the discussion going. (“A spreading movement? How Florida school shooting survivors are inspiring other students to demand gun control,” Feb. 20)

All too often, an incident happens, people shout for gun-control laws and within a few weeks, we hardly hear about it. To prevent this from happening once again, the media must keep this issue on our radar screens.

If the media would continue to discuss gun control (all sides of the issue) by interviewing people, talking about incidents and reporting on the latest bills in Congress, we would not forget about the problem. The constant information in our faces might help to keep the subject alive and thus promote change.

I hope the students in Florida and across the nation who are organizing for gun control will utilize the media as much as possible. Once and for all, we need to rethink our gun laws and save lives.

Marlene Bronson, Los Angeles

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To the editor: The fact that we are now seriously talking about turning our children’s schools into armed, guarded forts as a rational solution to gun violence is, to me, a heart-sickening symbol of how far we have gone astray on this issue.

No other free, open democracy has our level of gun violence. If we look to other prospering democracies, we can learn how to regulate firearms while still allowing citizens to own them. In no other democracy would a teen, who could not legally buy alcohol, walk into any gun store and buy a weapon specifically designed for mass killing.

Having the regulations used by other prosperous Western nations could have prevented the killing of 17 people in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14.

Doug Wiita, Playa del Rey

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To the editor: The most recent of a never-ending stream of school shootings has sparked yet another national conversation about guns, rights and school security. My questions concern parenting.

What kind of parents convert schools into fortresses with metal detectors, single points of entry and fences that cannot be scaled? What kind of parents ensure that children receive active shooter training, making it clear that an armed killer might enter the classroom at any moment?

What kind of parents sacrifice the happiness and mental tranquility of children in order to remain true to a wacky interpretation of the 2nd Amendment that allows the past to control our future?

We do.

Gregory Fast, Oxnard

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To the editor: Many of our legislators make it sound as if we must select only one of the following, but why can’t we have stricter gun control laws, and better school security, and more mental health screenings?

Susan Stann, Temecula

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