Gun control talk isn’t ‘dodging’ bigger issues

Talking about gun control is not “a dodge” from talking about “the harder stuff” (letters, “Don’t waste time calling for gun control,” Jan. 7). Jim Borland blames mass shootings on terrorism and mental illness, and he suggests we do more to address those causes. He also thinks that Americans are “wasting time calling for more gun control.”

This is all fine and well, but he conveniently neglects and ignores the grisly toll guns take on people’s daily lives outside of mass shootings or terrorism, including murder, suicide and unintentional shootings.

All one has to do is look at some statistics to show the impact of guns. On average, every day in the United States, 297 Americans are shot, of which 89 die (data from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence). On average, in a single year, 108,476 Americans are shot, of which 32,514 die (data from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence).

Most Americans want common-sense gun laws. A civil conversation about the problem should be embraced, not denigrated. It might not result in providing all the answers, but it’s a beginning.

What kind of nation are we if we choose to carry on without reflection and to accept the status quo of gun violence?

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Gun control talk isn’t ‘dodging’ bigger issues."