Our country in need of gun reform

To the editor:

In 2015, more people will die from firearms than in traffic accidents, with 283 million guns in civilian hands. More than 30 people are killed each day by a firearm, half of them between the ages of 18 and 35. In 2012, there were 258 justifiable gun homicides by private citizens (that is, homicide during commission of a crime). In that same year, there were 20,666 suicide deaths from guns. For every 'justifiable death,” there were 78 suicides and 34 unjustified deaths.

While individuals and the National Rifle Association consistently espouse high standards of personal responsibility, as a collective, we are highly irresponsible. We need only look at our recent Iowa tragedy to see this.

In April 1996, a gunman killed 28 and wounded 18 in Tasmania, Australia. Within two weeks, sweeping gun reform was enacted. There was a buyback of 1 million guns, one-third of the national citizen stockpile. The import of semi-automatic and automatic rifles was banned. The result? Since 1996, there has been no mass killing incident in Australia. Firearm suicides decreased by 80 percent in one decade.

We are allowing a disaffected subset to revive the horror of the KKK and escalate random internal terrorism. If we do not all stand for equal rights and reign in this excess weaponry, Charleton Heston's famous line will prove true. We will pry more and more guns from cold, dead hands and bury too many innocent people.

Mary Kemen

Cedar Rapids