What Does It Take to Tighten Gun Laws?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/opinion/las-vegas-massacre-gun-laws.html

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To the Editor:

On Monday, after the Las Vegas massacre, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said it was too soon to discuss gun control. Somewhere in Washington, gun lobbyists were conspiring to spin the news. After Sandy Hook, they had called for better mental health care. After San Bernardino, they had demanded looser concealed-carry laws. After Pulse in Orlando, they had decried “radical Islam.” But now their grab bag of excuses is completely empty.

Stephen Paddock apparently had no history of mental illness or criminal record and reportedly did not belong to any terrorist organization. His perch high above the Las Vegas Strip made it impossible for his targets below to return fire even if they had had a firearm.

I don’t doubt that the National Rifle Association and fellow lobbyists will find a way to kill gun control legislation once again. But this time their spin will have to be truly imaginative.

STUART RICHARDSON, PARIS

To the Editor:

The Republican claim that now is not the time to talk about increased gun control laws is absurd. If the plague were killing our citizens, it would absolutely be the time to speak about rat control measures. If citizens were repeatedly killed in plane accidents, we would immediately consult experts regarding aviation safety issues.

Our citizens are being gunned down on a regular basis. If our elected representatives are too tied to ideology or too beholden to special interests to take serious action on gun control laws as thousands of our citizens die from gun wounds each year, those representatives have no business being in office — and it is absolutely the time to talk about that.

KATHARINE JONES, NEW YORK

To the Editor:

Re “477 Days. 521 Mass Shootings. Zero Action by Congress” (editorial, Oct. 3):

With the Las Vegas massacre setting a new “worst ever” record in modern American history, I wonder about the gun lobby’s tipping point. How many people must be killed for the gun lobby and its congressional supplicants to accept reasonable controls that many (if not most) Americans want?

We know that a 59-death tragedy is below the tipping point. What about 100? 1,000?

Sadly, I’m sure that I will see death tallies increase. But I don’t think I’ll ever see the gun lobby accept sensible restrictions.

ALAN RUTKIN, GREAT NECK, N.Y.

To the Editor:

Your editorial graphic on mass shootings is stunning. Without in any way glorifying these shootings, I propose that you set aside a small area on Page 2 to note each one going forward. Perhaps that will help build the momentum we need to confront the National Rifle Association and change our gun laws.

BARBARA GOLD, PHILADELPHIA

To the Editor:

Re “Will Politicians Finally Act? No,” by Steve Israel (Op-Ed, Oct. 3):

Many are agonizing over the question “why?” Why did this man decide to murder so many in Las Vegas? Are we missing the obvious motive in the mass murders there and elsewhere recently? Couldn’t this just be suicide by murder?

It used to be that suicides acted mostly in isolation. But now, with the ready availability of weapons capable of mass destruction, anyone with so much misery and hopelessness can express those feelings in a final horrifying act.

A Harvard study has found a strong correlation between gun ownership and suicide rates. The connection suggests that there is something we can do about both kinds of tragedies: Limit the kinds and broad availability of guns on the market.

DAVID A. VACCARI, METUCHEN, N.J.

To the Editor:

Sadly, I agree with Steve Israel that nothing will change. Even though virtually all recent mass shootings in this country have been carried out by native-born Americans, President Trump and his Republican colleagues continue to support enhanced background checks and extreme vetting of foreigners as a way to keep America safe. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if they called for the same extreme vetting of people in this country trying to obtain military-grade assault weapons?

BERYL ROSENSTEIN, BALTIMORE

To the Editor:

Re “Suspect, an Unmoored Retiree, Kept Quiet and Gambled Often” (front page, Oct. 3):

Here was someone who lived in relative obscurity and anonymity. He didn’t seem to have many friends or relatives he kept in touch with. He lived below the radar. As we all try to understand the motivations for the Las Vegas tragedy, let’s not turn killers, whether in life or death, into sudden fame. Let’s keep them below the radar. The focus belongs on those who lost their lives or were injured in this senseless tragedy, and on those who helped save others.

ALAN KIRSCHNER, BETHESDA, MD.