Readers offer opinions on gun violence, regulation

The power of imagery. It was September

15, 1955, when Jet Magazine published the photo of Emmet Till in an open casket. Due to the courage of his mother, Mamie Till-mobley, the horror of his death was revealed around the world. Unlike the current era, the hatred that led to his death was not attributed to “Replacement” theory,” but a white man’s need for power and authority over a 14-year-old Black boy.

That same penchant for violence has become embedded in American culture. Mass shootings have become ubiquitous. States have found it acceptable to do away with all gun restrictions.

What, if anything, can change our trajectory? Another brave family member will have to step forward and allow their fellow Americans to see what gun violence looks like, not on TV, but in real life.

The time has come for the pro-life movement to move beyond being merely a pro-birth movement and shift its focus from the unborn to a country threatened by gun violence in our daily walk of life. It’s time for all who are eligible to vote to become educated voters and cast votes for candidates qualified to be effective legislators and not just flame throwers.

We don’t have to live in fear, hate and division. Thoughts and prayers cannot fix this.

I always look forward to reading Ray Marcano’s columns. They are always thoughtful and timely. His column on Sunday, May 29, “After Uvalde and Buffalo, I’m blaming us” conveyed the feelings of so many. I take issue, however, with his statement “I’m a strong supporter of the Second Amendment.” How, with the massacres of so many innocent children, from Columbine to Sandy Hook to Uvalde, could anybody support a constitutional amendment that allows unregulated ownership of assault weapons? If the Second Amendment justifies this carnage, it needs to be repealed.

I’m so tired of writing and calling in the wake of another mass murder to beg someone to do something. The first thing Mike Turner can do today is to call on the White House to open a White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The second is to sponsor and pass comprehensive gun control legislation to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of everyone. Turner knows what it’s like to be the parent hearing their child was in the path of a murderer like these shootings and every other before and after the Oregon District. I was so moved by how he acted after this happened here in Dayton. He can’t let any more parents live the same thing when he has the power to stop it.

How can an inanimate object, a gun, be the cause of shootings? It can’t in and of itself do anything. Only when an individual picks it up does it become something of use. So the person not the gun, Mr. President, was the problem. But liberals like Biden just can’t pass on an opportunity to step on the Constitution. The document that gives freedom of speech also gives right to have arms. If you don’t think it’s political, why doe s the president want to step on the Constitution?

The tragedy is this: Young children are being killed and a broken system hasn’t changed.