Guns are the problem

Several years ago, I vowed I would never write another letter to the editor, but after the gun violence over the last several months I feel morally obligated to break that vow with the full knowledge that what I have to say will upset others.

Let’s be very frank. The threat facing America today is not terrorists. It is not the mentally ill. It is not criminals. No, the threat facing America is very simple: guns, guns, guns.

Let me tell you why. Since the assassination of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, more Americans have been killed by firearms in the United States than have died in all wars America has fought since our founding in 1776. Since 9/11, more Americans have died from firearms than were killed fighting the Axis powers in World War II.

Finally, in the last two years, more Americans have lost their lives from guns than fell during the 12 years of the Vietnam War. Currently, 30,000 Americans are killed and 70,000 are injured by firearms annually in the U.S. Enough said. Let’s stop the violence by getting rid of the guns.

Neil Heyen

Spokane