Re: “,” July 2 guest commentary.
Rep. Diana DeGette and Ken Toltz wrote that “we must do everything we can to prevent another mass shooting.” Everything, it seems, except identify the Orlando shooting as an act of Islamic terrorism. The authors instead use this tragic event to shamelessly promote their well-worn agenda for gun control. DeGette congratulates herself for the stunt on the House floor that did nothing to promote a bipartisan discussion of solutions but instead was merely political theater.
The Orlando shooting was no more a failure of gun control than the 9/11 attack was a failure of airplane safety. The daft assertion that more gun control will prevent future acts of terror ignores the obvious truth that terrorists will use whatever weapon is available, from airplanes to pressure cookers, to achieve their end.
If bipartisan solutions are what DeGette supports, I suggest she refrain from exploiting tragedy to promote her point of view.
Thomas D. Grant, Littleton
Regarding legislation to keep people on the no-fly list from buying guns, Rep. Diana DeGette and Ken Toltz ignore the fact that thousands of people have been placed on this list erroneously, and to use this list to deprive them of their Second Amendment rights without due process is a miscarriage of justice.
A simple solution would be to have two lists. The first would be a “no fly and alert” list, which would still allow a person to buy a gun but would send an alert to the FBI each time they do. The second list would be a true “no fly/no buy” list; but to be put on that list would require the review and approval of a judge, similar to the way temporary restraining orders are issued. Once on that second list, a person would have the right to appeal (at government expense) his or her placement on the “no buy” list and would remain on the list only if the government could produce compelling evidence as to why allowing that person to buy a gun represented a true threat to public safety.
Joe Lechtanski, Larspur
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