I can't listen to pundits and politicians repeat the same tired post-shooting advice any longer. They all name partial responses at best.
More secure schools? What about non-school shootings? Better treatment for mental health? What about all the shooters who show no advance sign of mental problems? Better training for first responders? They can only respond after the first shot has been fired. Better background checks for gun ownership? What about the shooters whose first crime is to kill somebody with a gun? More armed citizens? Think of the chaos at the El Paso Walmart if the hundreds of people carrying a gun had pulled them out and started shooting.
Ban assault weapons? Horrific as mass murders are, statistics show that 7,000 murders in 2017 were committed by handguns, while fewer than 500 were committed by rifles. This statistic does not include suicides, which common sense tells us would increase the percentage of handgun deaths. Banning assault weapons is just a partial solution.
Enough with the hand-wringing. There is only one surefire way to end gun violence: End guns. All guns except bolt action rifles and pump action shotguns must be banned. Period.
Kathryn Fitzgerald, Salt Lake City