Letter: Let’s get back to basics to address gun violence

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I will preface my words by saying that I am a multiple gun owner and strongly support our hunting and outdoor heritage.

Having said that, our founding fathers did not intend to promote or allow school shootings, church shootings, movie shootings, concert shootings and those in Sandy Hook elementary school, Baltimore, Oklahoma, Arizona, Buffalo, Uvalde, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, and the list goes on. The most recent mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine where 18 people were mercilessly killed, and 13 injured, represents a national crisis and epidemic that must be immediately curtailed to keep our citizens safe.

I think there is zero connection between the Second Amendment that allowed us to defend our nation against British intervention and the gun lobby’s contention that promotes the widespread purchase of guns to be used for any reason.

Mass shootings, defined as three or more deaths at one time, have occurred in 2023 at an average rate of two per day . Many contend that solving mental health issues, controlling drugs, better communication between law enforcement agencies — if you see something, say something, etc., will solve the problem. All very important, but it is impossible to keep track of 330 plus million Americans’ mental state 24/7 and being human, things can happen at any time that will affect behavior.

Let’s get back to basics. The most efficient and effective item that kills, other than bombs, is a well-placed bullet and in the case of major mass shootings , most were fired from assault rifles, fundamentally weapons of war. Automatic weapons are banned, but assault weapons with high capacity magazines and devices like bump stocks that allow them to become semi-automatic must be banned immediately.

Opponents will tell you that with over 400 million weapons in circulation , it won’t make a difference. This critically needed law won’t be an immediate solution for preventing mass shootings, but it will be an obvious step to move us in the right direction, as well as having the high probability of saving at least one or more lives annually. If you don’t think that’s important, just consider it being your life or one of your loved ones.

A BDN opinion piece on Nov. 16 noted that persons who are investigated can still keep their guns as allowed by the harmful and ineffective yellow flag law.

In conclusion, the only answer to keep our people safe is an enforced red flag law where those being investigated will have their weapons immediately confiscated, but subsequently returned if there is no indication of a problem.

Joe Bertolaccini
Orrington