Make America afraid?

We have a governor who seems to think that labeling a mass murder a terrorist act will reduce mass murders by assault weapons. Thus, the potential mass murderer will be deterred by getting a stiffer sentence than what? Suicide? Being killed by law enforcement? Getting the death penalty? Could we have some measure of rationality here?

We have a Congress which can’t agree on whether possessors of assault weapons should have background checks. Even clinical psychologists can’t agree on what kind of test a person should pass to guarantee they will not mass murder in the future. So we are going to be seeing some first-rate political posturing, which comes down to what? Endless litigation if the utterly useless bills pass, that’s what! So we will continue to allow assault weapons to be put in the hands of the mentally ill to be used for mass murder on the basis of one of several interpretations of the Second Amendment, the interpretation of the National Rifle Association.

Is this making America great again? Is making America great done by making Americans fearful of attending their schools, concerts, churches, temples, bars, movies, big-box stores, and places of work and even of walking their streets? If it is, we are already the greatest country on Earth, and we don’t need to be greater. I believe there is one solution to this problem, and it is the cheapest solution with the lowest social impact: Possession of assault weapons should be made a felony. OTTO HENRY ZINKE

Fayetteville