Dear Editor,
When I hear people saying that those who are against gun restrictions don't care about the lives of children, I disagree. I think most gun owners who protest restrictions are as compassionate as the rest of us. But they see the facts in different ways. Some of them, for example, express concern that all guns will be taken away if automatic weapons are restricted. (However, they were limited for a decade ending in 2004 and their guns were safe.) Others believe that fewer guns or different kinds of guns would not make a difference, that it is all a matter of mental health.
Last week I saw the American President of the International Association of Police Chiefs on TV asking for restrictions on gun ownership. This reminded me that most of the UK police still do not carry guns, except for special forces, like our swat teams. But I had not known, until I did some research, that police in 18 other countries do not arm their police either.
I am not suggesting we disarm our police. But in the US, the only country with more guns than people, police have to carry guns for their own protection.
I understand that some of the children in Uvalde were not recognizable because their faces were destroyed. Horrible to visualize. If the shooter had used a non-automatic, some of those lives might have been saved, since the bullet would have gone straight through, instead of exploding in the body as happens with an automatic weapon, rendering medical teams helpless. I've read that the AR-15 obliterates organs, pulverizes bones and can leave a jagged exit wound the size of a soda can.
Another disturbing fact regarding the lethality of automatic weapons: In England and Wales, where guns are restricted, there have been thousands of knifings in 2019, and about 200 deaths. There was an equal number of shootings in the US that year and there were multiple thousands of deaths. It doesn't take great intelligence to realize that guns are more life threatening than knives in terms of the potential numbers of people affected. And of course, semi-automatic rifles can kill 30 people in 30 seconds.
Finally, an absolutist adherence to the Second Amendment giving us the uninfringed right to bear arms seems to contradict the Preamble which states that one of the purposes of the Constitution is to provide for domestic tranquility. How can we be tranquil when we know we can be shot at any time at a concert, grocery store, in church, in our schools, trains, subways, on the street?
We know that we don't need curtailment for responsible gun owners. Restrictions are for impulsive or hate filled people, many of whom are in need of mental health treatment. Nor is anything a panacea. We need improved mental health care as well. But, in addition to mental health, there are things we can do to save some lives while enabling responsible owners to keep their guns for hunting or for selfprotection in their homes. And one of those things is restricted use of automatic weapons.
Sincerely,
Judith Andreica