Letter to the editor: We must start solving America's gun problem

America has a gun problem. We are world leaders in both gun ownership and deaths. Statistics show 120 guns per 100 Americans. In the first six weeks of 2023, there were 71 mass shootings. We have become numb to media reports of the carnage that affects civilians and law enforcement alike. The police are often out-armed.

The surge of gun purchases during the pandemic did not make us safer. Studies show in homes with guns, the guns are more likely to be used against someone in the home, more often a woman, than for self-defense. Guns are rarely used against intruders.

We feel unsafe in our schools, churches, places of work or communities, then cite the Second Amendment and the need to protect ourselves. We do not need to gut the Second Amendment to achieve change. The 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a start, but not enough. We need universal background checks, a truly national registry, consistent laws and enforcement regarding domestic abusers, more restrictions on gun modifications, and tracking of ghost guns. We need reinstatement of the assault weapon ban.

The majority of Americans favor stricter gun laws. We need legislators to push forward bills to keep us safer and to show us who backs both us and the blue.

Lisa Messineo

Penn Township, Westmoreland County