More senseless shootings are inevitable

To the editor:

Following the tragic shooting of two television reporters in Roanoke, Va., the media once again focused on the mental state of the shooter - a disgruntled former employee a gun. News coverage largely ignored the fact that due to inaction by lawmakers, virtually any angry person with a grudge - law abiding, non-law abiding, mentally stable or unstable - can purchase a firearm in this country.

The gun lobby argues that if more people carried guns we all would be safer. First it was teachers that needed to be armed (Newtown, Conn. school shooting), then military recruiters needed to be armed (Chattanooga, Tenn. recruiting center shooting), and now reporters need to be armed (Roanoke shooting). The problem is that arming the 'good guys” also means arming the 'bad guys.”

Following the Roanoke shooting, spectators at the Washington Nationals baseball game observed a moment of silence for the victims, ironically in a city where lawmakers have been silent on gun violence for decades.

Given the current environment, more senseless shootings are both predictable and inevitable.

John Johnson

Cedar Rapids