Letters to the Editor: Leaders, stop what you’re doing and ban assault weapons now

To the editor: I want something very simple. I want President Biden to state that he will not sign another bill passed by Congress, no matter how valid, until a bill reaches his desk outlawing assault weapons. (“Police seek motive as Nashville school shooting captures the attention of a divided nation,” March 27)

I want the federal government paralyzed until this bill is passed.

I want one more thing. I want the lawmakers who represent states where mass killings of children have happened — and there are many — to meet with the parents of those slain children and publicly explain to them face to face why they could not support such a bill.

James Steimke, Palm Desert

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To the editor: The tragic mass murder at an elementary school in Nashville, where three children, three adults and the shooter lost their lives, was horrifying.

But the National Rifle Assn., the gun manufacturers and the members of Congress who support them (and are supported by them) can rest at ease, because at least no one lost their 2nd Amendment rights.

And, by the way, what well-regulated militia did the shooter belong to?

Ellen Knopf, Tustin

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To the editor: The photo by Nicole Hester of The Tennessean of a child weeping on a school bus should be enlarged into a poster and prominently and continuously displayed in the halls of Congress until significant actions on gun control are taken.

The Times has said its thousand words in that picture it published.

Karen Scott Browdy, Fillmore

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To the editor: Yet another unthinkable firearms atrocity. So it’s back to America’s post-massacre drill:

Mourn the innocent dead. Shower their survivors with thoughts and prayers. Highlight the shooter’s maniacal bent. Malign those who might have diverted him or her from such a murderous path.

And watch the NRA’s political toadies duck questions about how easily assault weapons can be obtained.

After the dead are buried, life goes on. Firearm sales skyrocket. Animated 2nd Amendment debates recycle. Politicians stalemate on meaningful gun-control measures. Nothing much changes.

So Americans just cower until the next gun massacre resurrects this dreary drill. Pete Seeger’s iconic lament comes to mind: “When will they ever learn?”

Greg Gilbert, Burney, Calif.

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To the editor: Motive? There is really only one kind of shooter — a person with some kind of emotional disturbance, a lot of guns and a grudge. I’m sure some specific grievance by the Nashville shooter will emerge, which will mean little to the victims and even less to the dead.

The problem is the attitude that the way to solve your problems is to kill yourself and take a lot of people with you. The NRA has an attitude problem too — all it has is a hammer, so every problem looks like a nail.

The NRA could really do a lot of good if it worked to change attitudes. It is in a position to be listened to and therefore save lives.

We all have an attitude problem. We see shooters as some kind of alien creatures. Sadly, they are us. Maybe a little more courtesy and compassion in our discourse wouldn’t kill us — it might even save your life.

Peter Scofield, Corona del Mar