Letter to the editor: Where is our decency and common sense?

I am a gun-owning wife of a military veteran, daughter of a lifelong member of the NRA and mom to a son who was on his school’s rifle team. I would never relinquish our weapons. However, as a responsible gun owner, I am appalled that those on the right have already begun screaming about the government wanting to use this devastating, tragic shooting in Texas as a “gun grab.” Apparently, any common-sense regulation is unacceptable.

We regulate our cars, our medicines, our food production, but mention the gun industry, and people fall apart. Background checks, three-day waiting periods and raising the buying age to 21 are evil “Demoncrats” coming for your guns? They are not.

And Faux News, instead of thoughtful debate on regulations, has been running “ideas” that would turn our schools into military prisons with armed teachers, man traps, trip wires and full police presence at each building. What would that cost? How awful for the little ones to spend their day in that, always fearful.

The vitriol I am reading any time this topic comes up tells me we have lost our collective decency along with our common sense. Our forefathers weep.

Karla Thomas

Hempfield