America paying the price for its gun culture
Recognizing the need for a militia to protect our newly formed nation, our forefathers guaranteed “the right to bear arms” in the Bill of Rights. Sadly, they inadvertently laid the groundwork for what has become America’s gun culture. Firearms, even assault weapons, have proliferated, are easily purchased and may be carried without a permit in states like Georgia. It should be no surprise that the rate of mass shootings in the United States is the highest of any western democracy. Too often, our schoolchildren are massacred in these shootings, as happened at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
After each such massacre, public demand increases for commonsense solutions to these unintended consequences of the Second Amendment. Instead of reasoning together to solve this continuing crisis, our “leaders” repeatedly engage in unproductive partisan conflict. We voters have a tool to resolve this deadlock of democracy. It is up to us to vote to expel from office leaders who fail to solve this problem.
ARNOLD C. MCQUAIDE JR., BERKELEY LAKE
Communities need to be vigilant against school violence
Regarding the horrific school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, there is certainly no easy remedy moving forward. Constant, divisive political finger-pointing will solve nothing.
We can easily prevent 18-year-olds from legally buying tactical weapons, but the main problem, clearly, is profound mental illness, which somehow must be addressed.
I suggest communities all over the country compile lists of volunteer parents willing to submit to extensive background checks and firearms training, organize a schedule and deploy them, in pairs or more if available, outside of their child’s school. If a school has 1,000 students, you should be able to find 50 or more volunteers who have schedules that could accommodate this need.
Also, equip them with a panic button-type transmitter to alert the police. Relatively cheap. It can be enacted in under a year. I promise those volunteers will perform their duties admirably.
BRIAN MORROW, MARIETTA
