You knew another mass shooting was bound to happen. The only unanswered questions were when, where and how many fatalities there would be. A little over a week ago, we found out. At least 18 people were shot and killed and 13 injured in Lewiston, Maine. Not surprisingly, law enforcement authorities identified the suspect as having used a high-powered, assault-style weapon during his killing spree.
My Laguna Beach friends and I may live 3,000 miles from Lewiston, but we share that community’s grief and anguish. This past summer, more than 50 of us signed an open letter to Joe Biden urging the president to convene a Camp David gun summit with leaders of the National Rifle Association, 2nd Amendment proponents, law enforcement officials and families of victims in attendance. Two weeks ago, we contacted the new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention with a request to forward our plan, now endorsed by more than 1,000 people coast to coast, to the Oval Office.
For too long, the parties on both sides of the gun safety debate have talked “past” each other instead of “with” each other. My friends and I believe a Camp David summit is the best way to change that dynamic. We feel the sooner the relevant parties sit down and break bread, the sooner they can agree on new, commonsense gun laws. The number of innocents killed and wounded in Lewiston is a national tragedy. Please, Mr. President, convene a gun summit at Camp David as soon as possible.
Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach
This ISSUE demands our work right now. BEFORE some maniac wanders into Laguna. Parents unite now to: Hire armed guards or police on-duty at all locations, Add surveilance cameras around all locations, Add panic buttons with automatic door locks on all locations, and weed out bad kids at all locations. Parents unite to hire attorneys and security experts to implement defenses at once. Don’t leave this to a hapless City Council or School Board. WE CAN DO THIS NOW.
You are missing the cause of the problem, a lack of punishment for crime and agencies failure to communicate with each other about people who are a problem. The FBI had credible info that the killer at Margorie stoneman was going to do a school shooting and ignored it, 17 dead kids. The military knew he was a danger and did not communicate it or the ones they did communicate to did nothing. Fix the problem don’t punish all law abiding people, who someday may save your life.