The former educator, Mr. Peter Graffagnino, should have done a better job writing his Opinion (“Gun violence response better in other nations”). The raw, but not specific, breakdown of stats can be deceiving.
There is no mention of how many deaths from guns come from the urban community. There’s no mention about how many guns are stolen, bought by straw buyers or made from parts, to avoid background checks. How many of the people involved are repeat offenders with gun charges? How many of the previous gun charges were dropped by district attorneys, who then said that the charges were included with other counts? The judges have lost their way on decisions. Let’s go back to hard-and-fast law. Have a gun when you commit a crime and automatically be imprisoned for five years. Use a gun and you automatically get 10 years. There should be no decisions to drop the gun charges.
Another problem is no-cash bail because you’re poor. If you can’t do the time, don’t commit the crime. This will take the repeat offenders off the streets and protect the citizens who need protection. Guns don’t kill anyone, just as knives don’t kill anyone, and vehicles don’t kill anyone. It’s the people who are using these items as tools. Be honest and don’t cherry-pick what stats you use and what you discard.
John Drennen
Magnolia
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
