Carnage not unique

Regarding the June 21 editorial “How much do we care about ending the carnage?”:

Your comments lead one to believe that, but for firearms, all of the killing would end. After a long list of mass shootings in the United States, you state: “These 30 years of slaughter are uniquely American. It’s the kind of exceptionalism that ought to so shame citizens that they would never rest until substantive action were taken.” I assume by “substantive action” you mean limiting citizens’ rights even further with regard to possession of firearms.

“Uniquely American.” Really? June 23, 2015, Maiduguri, Nigeria: During afternoon prayers at a mosque, Boko Haram suicide bombers kill at least 30. July 2, 2005, London: Suicide bombers kill 56 and injure 700. December 29, 2013, Volograd, Russia: A suicide bomber kills at least 15 and injures scores more.

Right here in the United States, April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols’ bomb killed 168 and injured over 650. I am writing this letter the day Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been sentenced to death for his part in the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and injured over 250.

My point being, you don’t need firearms to kill people. To stop the bloodshed, make such crimes painful, very painful, and the punishment swift.

Fred Getty

Marshall