Stop blaming guns for mass shootings

Dear Editor: First, let’s get the record straight: The AR-15 rifle is not an assault weapon, it is not automatic, and it is not the cause of the mass shootings.

Eleven teenagers die each day because of texting while driving. Should we raise the age of driving and owning a cell phone to 21? Is the cause of the deaths the phone or the operator of the phone?

We already have a lot of gun laws on the books that ban automatic weapons, require back round checks and require registration of handguns. These do not and will not stop criminals and the mentally disturbed from illegally getting guns.

The government shut down mental hospitals years ago and left the people in need of mental health care to fend for themselves. And the political correctness movement tied the hands of our schools from dealing with these children who needed help.

I would also like to point out that the movement to get these school children to march against guns is asking them to tell the government to take away their constitutional rights. Remember, Hitler got started by disarming the people.

Guns are not the problem, just like cars are not the problem in accidents. People are the problem.

The entire incident in Parkland, Fla., could have been prevented had the school and the local authorities done their jobs correctly in the first place. The shooter would have gotten the care he needed.

So before we condemn the National Rifle Association and guns, let’s fix the real problem and do away with gun-free zones, political correctness and the silly notion that criminals will follow the law.

Blaming the NRA is like blaming General Motors for car accidents.

You should research what the NRA is really about first and stop listening to the news media lie to you.