To the editor:
Thank you to the Daily Journal for the thoughtful editorial titled “Enough” in the March 3 edition.
My only suggestion would be to alter the priorities in the piece to move mental health to the top of the list and move the gun-control issues farther down.
Most, if not all, of the killings listed were perpetrated by someone who many had indicated was “troubled, a loner, disturbed, threatening” and any number of other descriptors. So let’s tackle the mental health problems first … that might be a little easier to gain consensus and more quickly accomplished than some of the gun controls which always spark such heated debate.
Next, the Indiana red-flag law should be in every state.
Overhaul the system that allows reports of the above mental health problems to be reported numerous times with no action on behalf of the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies.
Then systematically (and with less emotion) move toward background checks, limiting bump stocks (which the president has already done) and other policies as outlined in the editorial.
The furor and emotion around each of the killing incidents makes logical discussions difficult at that time. It immediately becomes a shouting match with few people listening to the other side.
That’s why I like the Daily Journal’s more measured approach.
Lyle Pettigrew
Greenwood
