Alderman wrong to say ‘ no innocent lives were lost’
To some in Chicago, 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez’s statement that “no innocent lives were lost” in yet another mass shooting in Chicago might have seemed like an offhand and frustrated utterance by a city leader (“Ald. Raymond Lopez stands by remarks that provoked gang threat” — May 9). However, in my opinion, it may well have struck a note. It suggests that because the murdered and wounded were just warring gang members, somehow we can take some solace in that fact.
The truth is we have reached 200 murders already in 2017 and also over 1,100 wounded. We have seen, toddlers, seniors, judges and police officers and many many more innocent citizens killed and wounded who have nothing to do with gangs. We are now going to try to parcel the victims and say, “Well, belonging to a gang will get you shot,” or just try to excuse it by saying, “Well, it’s only in certain minority communities, so it’s not that big a deal.” Chicago, it is everybody’s big deal, and it’s going to take everybody to come together and fight this evil cancer that has kept people living with fear. We simply cannot separate the victims by affiliations and somehow think, well, at least they are killing each other.
Bob Angone, Miramar Beach, Florida
Support gun dealer licensing bill
Thanks for your article by the Watchdogs covering the increase of burglaries of gun stores. This highlights the importance of SB 1657, the Gun Dealer Licensing Act, that was just passed in the Illinois Senate. One of the main features of this bill is to require strict security measures to prevent theft and burglaries of gun dealers. The Illinois State Rifle Association is insisting this require- ment will put many dealers out of business, but, frankly, any dealer who does not install and maintain adequate security should go out of business. Only responsible businessmen who practice all best business practices to prevent guns from getting into criminal hands deserve to operate. I know my state representative supports this bill. I encourage all citizens to call their representative and demand their support also.
Eileen Soderstrom, West Ridge