Letters to editor: Fla. school shooting | Lexington Herald Leader

Regulate guns like drugs

I am in my 81st year and to date — with the exception of a couple of speeding tickets — I have led a crime-free life. Yet in order to obtain a prescription medication that I have used for years as a pain reliever, I have to pee in a cup and can only access the medication at a pharmacy, not through mail as I do my other medications.

The reason for this aggravation is that the government has determined that the medication, while not an opiate itself, might be used to enhance other opioids.

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Yet a 19-year-old man can legally access assault rifles and ammunition with no questions asked, no peeing in a cup, no restriction on where he can buy his arsenal. Perhaps it is time to move all control of the buying and selling of assault rifles to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Since the government has been successful in ferreting out those of us who have legally used a medication for years with the result that it has interfered with our use of a time-tested pharmaceutical, it might be as successful at identifying young men with murder on their mind. It’s worth a try.

Teacher’s caution

As a Fayette County senior high teacher, my method was not popular with some students. Between bells, my classroom door was locked from outside. Some intruders thought they could come in to see their friends without knocking. My room was next to an outside door and I became concerned about my responsibility to protect my students. Those who objected were told they could always get out if need be, as in a fire. Now I feel redeemed, although that problem never arose ... maybe.

Man up, leaders

We can’t sit by and do nothing as we hear about one more shooting. Nothing changes if nothing changes, and it’s time for a change in this country.

It can start in Kentucky. I do support our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. But you don’t see this kind of gun violence in other countries, so what do they know that we don’t? Hearing political leaders repeatedly say their condolences and prayers are with those impacted by senseless violence just doesn’t mean anything anymore.

If I must have a license to drive a car, to catch a fish or to get married, then I should have to submit to a background check and apply for a license to even purchase a gun. If I must pass a driver’s test, than I should have to complete a gun-safety course before I can own a deadly weapon. I should have to purchase my gun from a licensed firearms dealer at a physical address that’s been inspected by ATF. No more private sellers, no more AR-15s. Our political leaders need to stop worrying about votes, get some guts and make a change for the people.

Pursuit of fear

So, let me get this straight. You have a constitutional right to own a gun, but I don’t have certain unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as stated in the Declaration of Independence? Believe me, it doesn’t make me happy to be afraid in public, worrying about losing my life.

GOP baby killers

Faster than a speeding bullet, the Republicans and the National Rifle Association will shoot down any real gun-control bill. The NRA and the GOP are the honest to God true baby killers in this country.

Violent, sick culture

There should be tighter control of gun sales. No private citizen needs an assault weapon and the availability of those weapons enables horrific mass shootings to occur. However, the media could also point a finger at the entertainment industry for the glorification of gun violence in movies, television programming and video games. Our culture is bathed in violent images to the point that it is sometimes hard to find anything to watch that is not sick, twisted and violent.

Fix the gun problem

I don’t care how much it costs. I don’t care how difficult the logistics are. Protect our children in the schools with armed guards or metal detectors. Quit assigning homework so they have no reason to bring backpacks into schools.

It is absolutely unacceptable that we as a people cannot even protect the weakest among us at what is supposed to be a sacred institution. Fix it. Politicians, administrators, doctors, parents: Just fix it. Pray for our children and pray for the families and the community devastated by yet another senseless act of evil. Pray with your kids so that they may know peace.

Put prayer back in schools

Years ago prayer was a must in school. The school day began with a devotion. It began with prayer and a scripture. When prayer was taken out of school trouble began. There may have been fist fights but not with knives and guns. Shooting in schools is out of control. It’s praying time for the students and for leaders. Let’s put prayer back in school.