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Letter: Will all those guns one day make America safer?

In this photo taken Saturday, March 17, 2018, in Dahlonega, Georgia, a student stands at the bay of a gun range at the University of North Georgia, carrying an air rifle and wearing specialized glasses. In the wake of the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, some Americans are questioning whether school gun clubs are wise. But those who participate, say it teaches them discipline, patience and life skills. (AP Photo/Lisa Marie Pane)

I’m watching what feels like another “shooting story of the week” on television. Last week that coverage was about another young black man being shot by police. That incident, like others, appeared unnecessary and tragic. Racism may have been at play, but I see the role of guns in our culture. Police responding to any call cannot help but fear the potential for gun violence. At some point we have to ask ourselves what kind of a country we want to live in.

In just 40 years there will be about 80 million more Americans, mostly packed into our cities. There will be that much more pressure, that many more chances for an unhealthy mind to do the unthinkable. Already today more than 5 million Americans own AR15s, and other guns dwarf that number. Those numbers will continue to grow, and the guns themselves will become ever more efficient. And to what end? Will all those guns finally one day make America safer? Will our yet-unborn American children finally be really secure in their classrooms in an even more gun-saturated, more densely populated America? Or will our schools finally, of necessity, look more like prisons?

Mark Petersen, Park City