Florida students need our support
Re Florida pushed to debate gun control, Feb. 20 The students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida are demonstrating great sense and courage in organizing for governments to protect lives by controlling gun possession and use. They must not stand alone.
These brave students south of the border need to realize that they are not alone in their struggle, since they will be confronted with terrible hatred, anger and condemnation by the political and social culture that favours a Wild West culture.
The schools where these horrible slaughters occurred need support for their struggles. Canadian schools must establish dialogue with them. Out teachers’ unions should be communicating with their U.S. counterparts to show Americans that they are not alone, even though the American culture tries to isolate them.
We must do more than offer empty thoughts and prayers. Thomas M. Kane, Toronto
It would be remarkable, even astonishing, if change to America’s toxic gun culture occurred because energized youth in Florida chided and shamed their torpid elders into finally acting.
Instead of being content with the rote thoughts and prayers from automaton politicians, young survivors of the Parkland slaughter have decided to turn their grief into a pitiless spotlight that hopefully politicians in Congress and the Senate won’t be able to escape. It’s about time. Geoff Rytell, Toronto
Re Gun lobby must accept responsibility, Letters,
Feb. 20 Although I certainly agree the National Rifle Association is very much part of the problem, James Kawano’s letter questions the Army Junior Reserve Officer Training program.
That’s not the problem here in Canada. We’ve long had a militia that recruits teens. I joined the Air Cadets when I was in Grade 8. We learned to use rifles and trained with real .22s and .303s. But it was under supervision and we only had access to guns while on the firing range.
The real problem in the U.S. is the gun-happy mentality, where the solution to any problem, including gun violence, is more guns.
This is the message the NRA promotes and it then pays politicians to block gun regulation. The NRA used to be about gun and hunting safety. Now it’s a front for the gun industry, trying to sell as many guns as possible, no matter who dies. James Knott, Mississauga