Re: "No Country for Young Men with AR-15s"

2.18.18

To the editor:

Ross Douthat (No country for young men with AR-15s, 2.18.18) problematically frames our country's problem with gun violence as reflecting two moral visions - one pro-gun and one anti-gun - in conflict with one another.  I disagree. Responsible gun owners and those who favor gun control express a shared morality - the right to be safe.  Innocent lives are being lost to gun violence and, as a society, we have a moral responsibility to do something about that. The majority of Americans feel this way.

Power and money, not competing moral visions, are to blame for our tragic reality. The NRA's position and its lobbying impact on our elected officials are morally indefensible. The NRA's influence far outstrips that of citizens on both sides of the debate who support responsible gun ownership. The perverse 'right' of the pro-gun lobby is the right of self-defense; the right to ensure one's safety with military style weapons.  I have yet to hear a story of how these weapons saved lives. Only tragedy after tragedy. No, the political inertia that exists is not about competing moral visions.

It is convenient, but also morally reprehensible, to repeatedly blame mental illness for gun violence. Does it play a role?  Of course it does.  But we do not have more mental illness than other countries.  Banning semi-automatic weapons would decrease gun violence.  Politicians need to be held accountable for their shameless ability to rationalize their positions as morally based rather than self-serving.

Respectfully submitted,

Larry S. Sandberg