Opinion: Now is exactly the right time to talk about gun control

To the editor: As we lament the latest gun-massacre tragedy and mourn for its victims, let us send a message to the apparently tone-deaf National Rifle Assn., which insists that guns themselves do not kill. (“White House says too soon to talk gun limits or other policy responses to shooting,” Oct. 2)

As has been proved time and again in our country, guns kill. And in the hands of Americans, they kill with much greater frequency than almost any country in the world that is not engaged in a war. So as we search for answers to this new tragedy and as we seek to place blame on those who might be responsible, let us consider the NRA and its fervid support of unbridled gun ownership.

Also, let us stop misinterpreting the Constitution in regards to gun ownership. Americans who favor gun control are in the majority. Why then do our laws not reflect the will of the majority? Is it that we are not being listened to? Or, and shame on us if this is the case, is it that we aren’t speaking up?

I suggest now is the time to speak up and now is the time to use the loudest voice we have: our vote.

Maria Elena Dunlap, Rancho Palos Verdes

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To the editor: I know that we have a 2nd Amendment right. I also know that we have the right to life. Where those two rights intersect, as they most vividly did in Las Vegas and elsewhere, why are we not employing better sense?

And by “sense,” I mean a sense that is appropriate to circumstances in 21st century America, rather than that in the 13 colonies.

We need adequate gun control now. If we can’t trust all of the states to be sensible, then the federal government ought to take action. A presidential platitude that “our unity will not be shattered by evil” is meaningless if we can be shattered by our own stupidity.

Gregory Hach, Torrance

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To the editor: Until our elected representatives develop some collective spine and can stand up to the gun lobby, then such mass murders will continue to occur indefinitely.

I behold this truth to be self-evident: Military-style, rapid-fire assault weapons do not belong in the hands of civilians in a modern society. They should be outlawed at once.

Guy Brown, Santa Barbara

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To the editor: You can restrict the purchase and sale of firearms and ammunition all you like, but it actually would not make much of a difference to would-be shooters.

If people have a desire to do bad things, they’re going to do them. If somebody has an inclination to do something terrible to a person, or in this case, a large group of people, gun control won’t stop him. Unfortunately, the age-old saying of “if there’s a will, there’s a way” applies here. It’s a hard idea to follow, but it’s true.

Gun control is a double-edged sword. On one hand, yes, it could reduce the chance of someone producing another horrible mass shooting. On the other hand, gun control also makes it difficult for a person to have the means to defend himself in a situation like this, and that is something that definitely needs to be considered.

George Zuniga, Long Beach

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