Letter: Republicans aren’t the only ones to blame

It caught me off guard when I read The Gazette's article detailing how the GOP Senators voted down the four gun bills put before them ('Divided Senate rejects four gun measures,” June 21). The article surprised me because I watched a replay of C-SPAN's coverage of the Senate session. To blame one side over the other is disingenuous at best. If blame has to be laid, there is blame enough to go around.

Reading the article The Gazette chose to print makes one think the Republicans were solely responsible for voting down each of the bills. In fact, it was the Democrats that voted down the least contentious of the lot - increased funding for the NICS background check system. They also voted down Sen. John Cornyn's bill that would allow extra scrutiny of people currently or formerly on a watch list, without infringing on due process.

The implication throughout the article is that the bills put forth by the Democrats were the only ones worthy of consideration. To be sure, the Democrat bills were flawed and would have done nothing in stopping the most recent terror attack. This type of lopsided reporting is a major contributor to the division we are seeing in this country.

Steve Ritter

Cedar Rapids