Guns don’t make us safer, and it’s time for a change
Twenty-six shot dead in a church and a painted rock commands more than half of The Tribune’s front page?
This is exactly the time we should be probing deeply into gun deaths in United States of America. Last year, there were over 38,000 lives lost to guns. Gun homicides have gone up. And no one dares to mention the elephant in the room? It’s not mental health treatment, but easy access to military-style weapons. Mass shootings occur in the U.S. almost daily. No other country comes close. More guns make us safer? Just the opposite.
Stop using the extreme right-wing interpretation of the Second Amendment as a crutch. It’s short enough to fit into one tweet. I read it almost daily. I worked with guns. I know from thousands of cases I handled how dangerous they are. Women and children dead.
Twenty-six women and children dead, not in Texas, but at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Dec. 14, 2012. That should have changed even the most partisan politician. It didn’t. It’s up to us — the people — now.
James Carlisle, Atascadero
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This story was originally published November 9, 2017 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Guns don’t make us safer, and it’s time for a change."