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Dear Editor,

I, as so many others, have been watching and listening to the rhetoric of people whose emotions about gun control are becoming almost hysterical.

I hear people blaming God, as well as guns, for killings and shootings which seem to be increasing. Ban guns, I hear. What will banning guns accomplish, I wonder? Bad people have wandered the Earth from the beginning of time. Evil has always been here. If someone has the need to kill or maim, they will find a way to do it, with or without a gun. I believe that a person who kills, indiscriminately, is either on drugs or mentally ill. Either way, in those two instances, they might be helped if their problem is caught early enough.

Background checks are done all the time by reputable dealers. What about the criminal who knows where to get a gun when he/she wants to own one? Therein lies the biggest problem. The other is parents who need to be responsible in their own homes when it comes to guns, in general. Keep firearms stored, unloaded, and locked away. Don’t make it easy for your kids to find a way to use your gun without your knowledge.

Please stop asking “where is God in all these shootings”? or “why are children killing children”?

I ask “What are we missing? We have a responsibility here, as well. Stop blaming guns. Stop blaming God. He already knows his own.

We, and I mean all of us, need to get busy and pay closer attention to a society needing closer scrutiny where mental health is involved.

Don’t make the mistake of relying on a government who would be happy stripping us of The Second Amendment which has worked very well, until recently. Unfortunately, all the wrong people are chipping away at it almost daily. Don’t let people’s emotions take away our freedom. It’s up to us to be responsible citizens. We need to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to what was, is and might be.

Most of all, hang tight to your faith.

Ellie Dimino

Red House