A gun-happy nation of violence

Re: “Shooter kills 8 at mall in Texas” and “Gun violence response apps for Republicans,” May 7

Another average day in the United States. We are a gunhappy, violent society with too many leaders who choose to do nothing to reduce the carnage caused by guns. Matt Giorgi

Brea

As a fan of Ward Sutton’s spot-on political cartoons, I marveled at the prescience of his latest that appeared in The Times last weekend.

The cartoon’s first frame shared words prefacing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s trademark response to news of each successive shooting tragedy in his state: “Our hearts go out ...”

After Saturday’s mall massacre in Allen, Texas, Abbott resorted to his de rigueur “our hearts” dodge — with no mention of taking steps to control the ever-worsening gun violence epidemic. P. Jane Weil

Sacramento

In America, are we so jaded and callous that we continue to accept the slaughter of innocent people? Every day we hear of another shooting — at a mall, a clinic, a school. It has become commonplace, the norm. Gov. Greg Abbott dismissed gun control as a quick solution that won’t solve the problem. He feels that addressing mental health is the long-term solution. But not everyone who uses a gun to kill has a mental illness. Some kill for revenge or hate.

Other countries that have banned AK-15s and other assault weapons have seen deaths drop drastically. Isn’t it time for the U.S. to enact legislation against these murderous weapons? Deborah R. Ishida

Beverly Hills

Thank you, Texas. Thank you, red states and your governors. Thank you, Republican representatives in Washington. Without your asinine logic and heartless decisions, the populace would not understand that you couldn’t care less whether we live or die.

Thank you, SCOTUS, for interpreting a centuries-old document that references weapons of another age and applying your special-interestinfluenced rulings that result in a senseless body count.

Without all of you “leaders,” we would still think that we live in the greatest country in the world. Instead, we know without a doubt that we live in one of the most evil, backward-thinking nations on Earth. You have the power to end this carnage but instead you refuse. Thanks for nothing. Rod Lawrence

Los Angeles