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