A chara, – The most telling image from the coverage of the shockingly sad shootings in Connecticut was the television coverage of police officers, walking around the school in the aftermath, holding high-powered guns.
This serves to propagate the myth that exists in the US, and which is affirmed by the state and federal authorities, that guns keep you safe.
Any politician of conviction will surely look to take action. – Yours, etc,
Sir, “Meaningful action” (Front page, December 15th) would require the CIA to halt its drone bombing campaign in northern Pakistan where mass killings of civilians happens on a regular basis. If only Obama had the same “overwhelming grief” for those children and mothers killed in these state-planned operations, by pilots in US air force bases in Nevada and Virginia using computers, video feeds and a joystick.
But the debate won’t encompass the US military having to disarm or pull back from foreign operations because the overwhelming grief felt by Pakistani civilians doesn’t register in the hearts and minds of US military personnel and US politicians. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – As an American citizen, I was struck by the historical possibility this tragedy presents to elevate the United States’ citizens understanding of our constitution.
After viewing the film Lincoln and its story of the birth of the Thirteenth Amendment (which ran counter to a nation’s understanding of race and ethnicity), I believe it is now possible in America to begin a dialogue on the true nature of the Second Amendment.
It is high time that we begin to understand and distinguish from our own the historical period in which it was crafted, and the reasons for its adoption.
Surely if there is any tyranny which now exists, it is the fear of the National Rifle Association’s lobbying power, and a historical illiteracy which perpetuates this fear and paralyses our ability to view the constitution as our framers intended – as a living document, to be amended as “We the People” see fit. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – While the horrific tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut has highlighted the need for greater regulation on the sale and distribution of guns in the US, it has also demonstrated that the political system in the United States is incapable of tackling and providing regulation for divisive issues such as gun control. Politicians, due to the never-ending threat of a future election, are constantly being forced to make campaign promises that must adhere to the beliefs of intimidating, media-friendly lobby groups.
Unless the US changes its political structure, solutions will not be possible for any of its future dilemmas. – Yours, etc,
Sir,- You reported that flags were to be flown at half mast in the United States to mark the shootings in Connecticut. I cannot help wondering if they were lowered at the headquarters of the National Rifle Association. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – If the US had stringent gun laws, and school massacres were happening here or in Europe because we had an American-style gun culture, the US would now be bombarding the world’s airwaves lecturing us on how and why we should get our act together.
Now is the time for the EU to officially contact the US State Department and express great concern about the country’s recurring school mass killings and its ludicrous gun legislation. Gun worship is now so embedded in the American psyche that most of its film or TV companies are unable to produce a drama or even a comedy without this deadly weapon making an appearance, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Legislation to massively curtail personal and multiple gun ownership could be President Obama’s great legacy to American children, their parents and the rest of the world appalled by these now all too familiar and heartbreaking events! – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I find myself grieving for those whose lives were cut short this weekend in Connecticut.
The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States allows people in many states and counties to carry firearms. However, the Second Amendment is meant to be a deterrent against pro-state warfare, whereby the people can arm themselves and undertake an armed revolution against said state, if needs be, as is described by the 1791 amendment.
The laws laid by revolutionaries should have no place in the schoolyard.
While I agree with the sentiment of an uprising in the most grave of circumstances, laws that allow any man, woman, or child, to take up an arm without any training will only result in the killing of our children.
My most sincere thoughts and condolences are with the families who have lost a loved one this week. – Yours, etc,