Gun Control
I was disappointed that your coverage of guns focused solely on gun control and not mental illness and violence in media and video games ["The Next Gun Fight," Jan. 28]. Such a one-pronged tack does a disservice to the reader.
D.J. Delong, ATLANTA
If all this was really about the safety of children, there would be a great legislative effort to make school buses safer. We would require buses to have seat belts. We would require children to buckle up. Gun legislation is less about public safety and more about control.
JohnDavidDeatherage, ON TIME.COM
Thank you, Amanda Ripley, for communicating the reality of using a gun in a life-or-death situation ["Your Brain Under Fire," Jan. 28]. You gave us the science and the experience of professionals in real life instead of the NRA hoopla.
Luan Wells, RACINE, WIS.
Training teachers to defend their classrooms with pistols may discourage invasions, but more practical, proactive measures are available to schools. For over a decade, my district in western New York has relied on school resource officers, who are employed by the sheriff and authorized to carry weapons. These deputies are not expected to be disciplinarians but instead to serve as informal counselors, safety planners and all-around defusers of anger. More than one act of violence has been prevented by students' conversations with a deputy in the cafeteria.
Jeffrey Bowen, Retired Superintendent, Pioneer Central School District, DELEVAN, N.Y.
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