Sensible changes to gun laws would make us safer

The time has come for the country tomove forward with sensible changes to our gun- control laws; the majority of citizens approve sensible controls. While it is true that guns by themselves don’t kill, guns in the hands of those who are mentally ill or have hatred do kill. We have seen it time and time again.

While we cannot stop all the killing, we need to unify to minimize the frequency and sheer volume of these mass shootings. We, as citizens, cannot feel safe knowing that someone can arbitrarily use us as target practice with a weapon that can shoot 400 to 800 rounds a minute. Therefore, bump stocks must be made illegal. Having regulations on the sale of guns from gun shops but not in other venues is self defeating; regulations must be expanded to include any and all purchases of guns in any venue. We need to stop making excuses and take positive steps to make our country safe again. BarbaraMarion, Palos Hills

Allowvideo gaming in city

Stop all the insane taxes. Allow video gaming in the city limits. Video gaming will also balance the city budget. Patrick T. Fegan, West Loop

Efficient local government

I would like to respond to a recent Viewpoint article titled “Cheer efforts to remake government.”

The article mentions the need for governments to be more efficient with taxpayer money, implying that as a whole, Illinois townships are included in the lot of poor stewards of taxpayer funds. In fact, the opposite of that is true.

The mindset that Illinois townships are more efficient than larger units of government isn’t just a talking point we use— it’s based on fact. An analysis by public policy researcherWendell Cox discovered that smaller, local governments have lower costs per capita than larger governments.

Providing low- cost service to the taxpayer is at the core of what we do, and in our mind, that’s service that deserves to be preserved. Bryan Smith, executive director, Township Officials of Illinois

What our Founders thought

A recent letter opined that we have lost our moral way. I agree with this. However, the writer also stated that the country’s founders believed religion and morality were necessary for our country to succeed. This is incorrect. Our founders believed in a separation of church and state, and some did not even believe in God. They did not want a national religion, and the Constitution contains no reference to God. The writer also mentioned the Second Amendment. The founders were familiar with guns that took quite a while to be loaded and reloaded. I highly doubt they would have been on board with assault weapons and guns with amagazine capable of killing hundreds in minutes. Sandra Orr, Gurnee