Pressure Congress to enact responsible gun ownership laws

What happens when “good” people with guns confront “bad” people with semiautomatic rifles? Innocent people get killed; the “bad” person has a free license to kill.

Ted Cruz offered a ridiculous solution- fewer doors in schools. What happens when there’s a fire -- students frantically piling up at the door? Could he possibly be serious?

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suggested arming educators. Is he kidding? Teachers are trained to teach, not be security guards -- two different professions. Suppose a child finds a teacher’s gun? Suppose a gun goes off accidentally?

I’m baffled that responsible gun owners aren’t pressuring Congress to enact laws assuring responsible gun ownership with background checks and banning semiautomatic assault rifles.

Wouldn’t these laws protect them and their loved ones? Shouldn’t they be leading the charge for responsible gun ownership?

Does it boil down to money -- the huge sums of money the NRA donates to legislators? When will they wake up? When will Americans wake up, shouting from the rooftops: “We love our children more than our guns”?

MARILYN E. GOOTMAN, ATHENS

Worth noting Georgia officials who participated in Jan. 6 falsehoods

Thanks to the AJC for listing Georgia players leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

I hope all will take note of our former elected officials who:

1.) sided with the state of Texas in a lawsuit that sought to invalidate our state’s election,

2.) those who shared false allegations of voting fraud after our state counted the ballots three times, and;

3.) those who participated in a slate of false presidential electors, possibly violating state or federal election laws.

Some of these officials continue to run for office, and I think Georgia can certainly do without more turmoil around falsehoods.

CLAIR M. MULLER, ATLANTA

Keep Reading

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) (center left) speaks with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) as they leave a Senate Republican luncheon and the Senate holds a “vote-a-rama” to pass President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Monday, June 30, 2025.  (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Credit: NYT

Featured

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (center) is flanked by GOP whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as Thune speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Credit: AP