Come on, Sen. John Braun, it’s you and other politicians who are supposed to serve us who must do better.
In your recent commentary “State Democrats’ Ban on Certain Firearms Will Not Make Our Communities Measurably Safer,” you predictably refer to the Republicans’ rhetoric that it’s people, not guns that are the problem.
Can you explain then why the states and countries with the tighter gun restrictions have much lower rates of gun violence?
One example: In the United Kingdom, following a 1996 school shooting, politicians acted quickly with stricter gun laws rather than being swayed by the gun lobbyists, and there have been no school shootings since. None.
Compare that to the U.S. where we have had over 350 school shootings since the Columbine massacre in 1999. Clearly, U.S. politicians have done little to make the problem better.
You state that violence is the real problem. How do you propose to change that? You state “it’s difficult to change people and their behavior.” More like impossible.
The sad truth is the U.S. reportedly has 5% of the world population, but 46% of the world’s civilian-owned guns. The manufacturing and sales of guns is a huge source of wealth for those profiting, and we are the sheep who keep saying, “Yes please, more guns” because of the propaganda of the gun lobbyists.
Yes, we must do better, starting with those who have the power, like you, to stop making excuses and do something.
L. Hawthorne
Chehalis
