Letters: Action on guns can’t wait

Re “Mourn first, then act,” Opinion, Dec. 18

Jonah Goldberg writes, “It’s not even obvious that mass killings are on the rise.” From 1999 to 2006, we averaged slightly more than one incident a year. From 2007 to 2012, we averaged four. Seven have take place in 2012 alone. Nothing could be more obvious.

Goldberg mentions that none of these “rampages by the mentally ill” involved automatic weapons. It’s not that the weapons were automatic but that they could fire up to 30 rounds without reloading.

We should consider what it means for a civilized nation to have more than 300 million firearms in the hands of a civilian population. If we’re looking at mental illness as a cause, then we need not look very far. This concept of mourning as a nation has done nothing to move us forward. It is simply an excuse to wait until we no longer feel anything and let it go — until the next mass killing.

Lloyd Sherr

Valley Glen

Goldberg reminds us of a wise maxim — don’t make any big decision in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy — and the equally wise idea that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Both these approaches should guide the president (and our collective thinking) through the weeks ahead as we develop long-overdue plans to curb gun violence.

As he was campaigning in 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama said that a president needed to be able to balance and address multiple critical issues concurrently. This is most certainly one of those times. To place gun control over our economic concerns is not in order, but how effectively he addresses these issues concurrently will be a true test of his leadership.

We do have deep cultural divides that will have to be considered, and those of us who would like to see immediate and possibly draconian action taken need to recognize this.

Edith Grady

Pasadena

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