Leader of gun rights group is hard to believe

Re “Extreme gun laws harm Black men” (April 7): Michael A. Schwartz, executive director of the San Diego County Gun Owners, argues that because Blacks disproportionately commit gun crimes, and are consequently imprisoned for them, stricter gun laws discriminate against Blacks. It’s like claiming that because youngsters have more auto accidents than seniors, traffic laws discriminate against young people.

The article disingenuously refers only to those who commit gun crime; it completely ignores the gun crime victims, who are far more disproportionately Black. A CDC analysis found that while Black men and boys aged 15 to 34 made up just 2% of the nation’s population in 2019, they were the victims in 37% of gun homicides that year. That’s 20 times higher than White males of the same age group. I’m sorry, but when he implies that his organization opposes stricter gun laws because he believes that Black lives matter, I simply don’t believe him.

Judith Leggett Escondido