Gun deal merely a GOP charade

The gun bill agreed upon by the Senate group merely gives cover to the Republican Party that it did something regarding gun legislation [“Senators strike bipartisan gun control deal,” News, June 13]. It does nothing about assault weapons that have been used in mass shootings.

Having no ban on assault weapons is unbelievable. Our two Republican congressmen, Lee Zeldin and Andrew Garbarino, oppose a ban on assault weapons. Their views on guns do not reflect the majority view. 

John Boughal, Bayport

The bipartisan gun deal is a joke. No ban on assault weapons of war, no background checks. Maybe change the age to buy guns from 18 to 21? These are all common-sense changes. And what about the gun shop owner who sold those guns to that 18-year-old? He should hold some responsibility.

Sherri Levinson, Great Neck

Recently, a reader attempted to conflate mental illness with mass killings despite many persons known to having committed mass murder have no history of mental illness ["It's not just about 2nd Amendment," Letters, June 5]. Most shooters seem to be consumed by anger, resentment and hatred. That is not the same as being mentally ill.

The rest of the world has to deal with mental illness, bullying, stress, video games, etc., and yet none of those countries come close to our level of expressed rage and violence against strangers and children.

It’s the guns. Ban military assault weapons, crack down on ghost guns, mandate background checks and provide a reasonable time for them to be completed. Children shouldn’t have to go to school in a prison, and we shouldn’t need body armor to go to the grocery store.

The suggestion that teachers will access a safely stored weapon, load ammunition and fire accurately all while shielding a room full of children is ludicrous. This sort of magical thinking and convoluted concept of “rights” is a significant obstruction to the public safety.

Cynthia Lovecchio, Remsenburg

Machine guns have long been outlawed for private citizens to own. AK-47-style rifles and AR-15s are merely portable machine guns and therefore should be outlawed as well [“ 'I don't want it to happen again,' " News, June 9]. Protecting schools is all well and good, but how do you protect supermarkets, shopping malls, movie theaters and all the other venues where gun massacres have taken place? You get rid of military-style weapons. That’s how. No one outside of the military needs them. It’s not really about the Second Amendment. It is about the greed of the gun manufacturers and the politicians who are in their hip pockets. Some 45,000 people in the United States die from gun violence every year. If that many people died in plane crashes, you can be sure something meaningful would be done.
Diane Coddington, Port Washington

Despite hearing testimony of an 11-year-old girl from Uvalde, Texas that she covered herself with blood to avoid being killed, more than 200 Republicans voted against legislation that would limit automatic weapons and ammunition sales. Are the Republicans so heartless and so indebted to the gun lobby that they can’t do the right thing -- what most Americans want -- control weapons of mass murder?
Robert Veeck, Brookhaven

I guess some readers might not have heard of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini [“Readers weigh in on gun issues," Letters, June 12]. When the government is the only guy with the gun, you're at the mercy of his rule. That's what the Second Amendment is about, not killing deer or target shooting. An armed citizenry is much harder to oppress. If that principle no longer applies, at least debate the issue with knowledge, not emotion.
Terence O'Donohoe, Sound Beach

When I was a youngster, my uncle, an NYPD cop, had a gun, and it was locked away from anyone who had no business with it. The military, of course, had weapons, when engaged in conflict. They didn’t carry them around when they were out and about. Hunters had rifles for pursuing game. Then we had criminals, including organized crime members, who seemed to know how to access a gun. For most of us, guns were exotic.

Somehow, over the past 30 years or so, gun possession has become a political issue, with otherwise apparently reasonable people suggesting that guns don’t kill people. I don’t get the logic behind that nonsense. The gun lobby will not address it's heading down a slippery slope, where children are more likely to be killed by a gun than all other causes of death. It's pretty sad when this is the only country in the world with these statistics. Is this what makes us exceptional?

Joan Nelson, Ridge