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Limit weapons access
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In the time since the horrific shooting in Newtown, Conn., blame has been cast upon violent movies, violent video games, gun-free school zones, mental illness, a lack of armed guards in schools, too many female teachers, the news media, poor parenting and a host of other reasons. Well, every other Western nation is under the same influences and they don't have nearly the frequency of gun deaths as we do in the United States.
There is one glaring difference between those nations and the United States, and that difference is the unfettered access to high-powered weapons by almost anyone in the United States who wants to own one or more of these weapons.
Some say the answer is to arm everyone so the good guys can stop the bad guys. Owning a high-powered weapon didn't help Nancy Lanza; armed guards didn't prevent the deaths at Columbine; the campus police didn't prevent the deaths at Virginia Tech; and the U.S. military didn't prevent the deaths at Fort Hood.
The only way to lessen the danger of gun violence is to do what other Western nations have successfully done: Severely limit access to high-powered weapons.
JOSEPH KOWALSKI
North Huntingdon
First Published December 31, 2012 12:00 am
