Editor, The News:
No one ever wants to see the murders that occurred in Colorado, on that we can agree.
Each time this happens though, people naturally will look to prevent it from happening again, and so we should.
As a society, we have tried blaming random murders on things such as satanic verses in records played backwards, or on the degradation of our society through "loose morals" and to objects such as firearms. All have failed.
Gun control is a placebo.
It won't cure the problem. It simply can't. More Canadians realize this.
I don't have an answer as how to stop the problem and frankly I would be skeptical of any quick, broad-stroke cure put forward by a politician.
However, most, if not all of these shootings, have just one thing in common, they all happened in a "gun free" zone.
This ensures a target-rich environment where the murderer can continue uninterrupted until someone with a gun stops them.
I would never suggest that just anyone be able to carry guns – maybe just off-duty police officers or those that have been trained to the same degree.
One could presume that if they are good enough to walk down the street with a 9 mm while on duty, they should be sound enough off duty.
How much longer will we continue down the wrong path, before all of us see it it's the wrong path?
Craig Jones
Wanstall's Hunting and Shooting Supplies, Maple Ridge