This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Donald Trump's promise to make America the safest country in the world is impossible. Republican politicians and their bedfellows, the gun merchants, simply won't let that happen.

Rejecting Muslims even after extreme vetting is attacking a problem that does not exist, yet works well as a diversion. The real threat is that Americans are shooting Americans. Terrorists, psychopaths, abusers and the dangerously deranged can purchase a gun, even an assault rifle, with no vetting (background check) required. Gun shows and the internet account for 40 percent of all gun sales and they allow unlicensed dealers to sell to anyone, no questions asked.

This deadly Republican policy helps generate 12,000 gun homicides annually. Deaths from foreign terrorists, although horrific, remain extremely rare. Homegrown gun violence annually kills the equivalent of four 9/11 events. Every American gun owner should be vetted (licensed). A good place to begin is a universal background check for all gun sales, and all sales limited to licensed dealers.

Reducing gun violence is not on Trump's radar. He endorses the NRA and refuses to put human life ahead of gun availability. Utah needs politicians who understand that an armed society is not a civil society and that enlightened gun regulations are absolutely necessary. To do nothing is criminal.

Norma Lowe

Salt Lake City