Prayers or action?

Here we go again, thoughts and prayers for more victims of two mass shootings. 31 dead, dozens injured within 24 hours. 112 dead from mass shootings in 216 days in America. Thoughts and prayers do nothing to stop the carnage from firearms.

Trump recently said at a rally that it’s “insane” people, not guns. Anyone who shoots to death a spouse, friend, police officer, etc., obviously has some mental health issue to do such a thing. Certainly mental health plays some role in some mass shootings, as do drugs/alcohol. The recent shooters had no diagnosed mental health issues.

Mass shootings might not happen without easy access to semi-automatic firearms with large-capacity magazines. Obviously, this country will never take firearms away from everyone, but we can do better by regulating certain firearms, large-capacity magazines, thorough background checks for all firearm purchases and sensible so-called red-flag warning laws nationwide.

Or we can go along as we are and buy bullet-resistant backpacks for kids and hope for the best. At the end of the day, is our quality of life better because of unlimited access to guns? Not even close!

Chris Powell

Spokane