Let’s talk gun control. Now
Re “O’Rourke confronts Abbott on Texas gun policies,” May 26
As usual, after another mass shooting, pro-gun Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas make the same old, tired excuse of not wanting to politicize mass shootings. To me, that’s just code for, “We’re just going to hide our heads in the sand and pretend this isn’t a
problem, so thoughts and prayers will be enough.”
Well, I have news for those who think that way: By refusing to take any action, you’re ignoring the problem; and by ignoring the problem, you become part of the problem.
Yes, that’s right. By refusing to enact tougher gun laws, they’re besmirching the term “lawmakers.” They clearly care more about not running afoul of the National Rifle Assn. than they do about public safety.
“Thoughts and prayers” are not worth a tinker’s damn to families now having to bury their children. How many more innocent lives have to be lost before the Republican excuse factory closes? Joey Schwartzman
Los Angeles
Dr. Lillian Liao, a pediatric trauma surgeon in south Texas who treated some of the Uvalde shooting victims, said the high-velocity firearm injuries, like the ones those students suffered, were particularly destructive on the bodies of small children. Were it not for the type of firearms used in the slaughter, she said more children could have survived.
Sen. Cruz doesn’t want to discuss the “gun” issue. Neither does Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who represents Uvalde in Congress, nor Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. They’d rather pivot toward easy platitudes and appease the gun lobbies at their backs.
For far too many elected officials, it seems the weapons themselves have become less threatening than engaging in frank, open, serious dialogue. The repeated behavior of our government representatives regarding any significant gun legislation brings to mind the observation, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
The tragedy Americans must deal with now is not just the loss of these innocent children or the devastating trauma that these events inflict, but also that so many of our elected officials are emotionally, spiritually and politically impotent.
Betty Goldberg Ojai
Texas events are horrifying enough without Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke totally and inappropriately overlaying self-serving desperation politics at the wrong time and place by crashing a news conference by his incumbent opponent. Have you no sense of decency, sir? Robert Souders Hermosa Beach