facebook-pixel

Letter: We need sensible gun restrictions

(Mark Wallheiser | The Associated Press) Sheryl Acquarola, a 16 year-old junior from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is overcome with emotion in the east gallery of the House of Representatives after the representatives voted not to hear the bill banning assault rifles and large capacity magazines at the Florida Capital in Tallahassee, Fla., Feb 20, 2018. Acquarola was one of the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 dead, who were in Tallahassee channeling their anger and sadness into action.

We constantly hear “If we restrict access to guns, then only criminals will have guns.” However, criminals do not seem to be the ones indiscriminately shooting at crowds of strangers! I worry more about those with no previous criminal record or documented history of mental illness who legally purchase and stockpile high-powered assault rifles and ammunition and use them on an increasingly frequent basis to commit mass murder of innocent bystanders.

We can all agree that those people, by definition, are mentally deranged criminals beginning with the first person they shoot. But how do we realistically prevent that act? Background checks can only do so much. We cannot lock up people just for being antisocial, acting weird or saying unsavory things on social media. We also need to sensibly restrict access to these incredibly destructive and lethal weapons.

Cindy Russon, Salt Lake City