Sponsoring Bel Air gun show sign of poor community care

Huge signs with bold lettering scattered throughout Harford County are now advertising the annual gun show at the Bel Air American Legion. I question the level of community care, even the values, of the Bel Air American Legion to sponsor yet another gun show in the face of fresh gun violence on school and higher education campuses at the start of this school year but especially in the face of veteran suicide by a gun. Every day, about 17 veterans die by suicide, and 12 of those 17 veterans (68%) die from a self-inflicted firearm injury, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

There are more than enough weapons circulating in and through our homes, neighborhoods and communities. Safe storage remains a serious ongoing issue for guns already in our possession. Adding to gun possession numbers, which surged during the COVID pandemic, flies in the face of promoting healthy living for vets and youth, in particular.

Surely the Bel Air American Legion seeks the welfare of its constituents and its ever-widening circle of households. If that is true, then the Bel Air American Legion, in ceasing to sponsor its annual gun show, would demonstrate how much it really cares about the lives of those it serves and citizens of the county in general.