SHOOTINGS: Focus on the root cause

Ron Dayton’s ignorant rant about members of NRA having blood on their hands is yet another example of how unwilling people are in discussing the root cause of mass casualty events. There are three elements involved: the person, the weapon and the environment. Yet many only want to focus on the weapon because its expedient and fits their narrative.

We must come together and address this from ALL aspects, including the ones around mental health, demise of the nuclear family and removal of faith from people’s lives. The basics of guns hasn’t changed much throughout history; so what has changed? The people! We now cultivate a society/culture of hate and divisiveness. Couple this with the rise in single family homes where a strong male figure is lacking, and you have a recipe for tragedy.

No gun law is going to prevent someone filled with evil; hellbent on causing human harm, from committing these sorts of atrocities. They will just find another way to inflict mass casualties. Look no further than the Boston Marathon bomber who used a pressure cooker or the recent events in Europe where trucks where driven into crowds of people.

Until people are willing to have genuine discussion about ALL aspects of this issue, these events will continue to happen. But go ahead, blame NRA members for having blood on their hands. By that logic, people like you have blood on your hands for refusing to acknowledge and address the root causes of these mass casualty events.

CLAYTON SAPPINGTON

Rathdrum