The recent attempt to shoot the former Republican president quickly brought several related items to attention for me. I immediately thought of all those little children, afraid to go to school because of all the mass assault-rifle shootings, almost exclusively in the U.S. The little ones look up to us adults with pleading eyes, saying, “Please help and protect us!” When I was young, we worried about being consumed by a mushroom cloud.
Red versus blue? “Pumping a fist in the air” is an obscene and disgusting gesture at a time like this! We have government to bring us together, not shoot each other. Government is where we compromise, learn each other’s desires and needs, and best ways to accommodate each other. Some political parties and leaders actually call for violence at rallies; others resist that at all costs.
Some people call for “taking their country back.” They’re dead wrong, and they need to get used to that. It’s my country as much as or more than theirs. I’ve served my country: have they?
Crazy people are running free and feral with their guns here. Just to make sure you get it right, I like guns and am an owner. But I’m not in love with a gun. They cannot solve any problems I have.
We’ve allowed the insane situation where those who can’t be trusted with a gun to run loose, while we turn our grade schools into prisons with gates, window bars, security, police. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas accidentally almost got it right. He said guns aren’t the problem; the problem is unbalanced individuals. So the answer is obvious. You can have free access to a gun after you pass thorough psychological tests. Inconvenient? It’s worth it if our children feel safe walking to school.
A. Martin
Merrifield
Want to submit a letter to the editor?
.
Read More: Reader Opinion: Assassins of children – Brainerd Dispatch