NEWTOWN

Bring God back into our lives

The tragedy of all these mass shootings is sad, but there always comes the debate of gun bans — all weapons are amoral, neither good or bad, it is the person behind the weapon that makes the weapon.

The real problem is there is no fear of God, and where there is no fear of God, people transgress His laws without hesitation because the fear of consequences is not a deterrent.

In ignorance we have removed God from our history — rewriting it so as not to offend someone or just a lack of belief in God. We have removed God from our schools, books, building and more.

To add to that, morals are no longer taught and aren’t a topic of learning, and many preachers teach a false grace; in short meaning it’s OK to sin and don’t worry about it. With all these things combined, it is no wonder we are in the mess we are in.

There are absolutes, there are rights and wrongs. If not, then everything becomes OK, and that is just not the truth. My heart is pained by the lack of it all and it is time to teach, preach holiness and right living. Offend? Too bad.

JOSEPH WALTER STULL SR., Mountain Home

Atheists don’t hold the power

After the recent tragedy in Newtown, it wasn’t surprising that “Christian” minister Bryan Fischer blamed this horror on the lack of prayer in schools: “It’s the fault of those dratted ay-thee-yists. If we had simply allowed God back in the schools, this would never have happened.”

Millions of godly, God-fearing Christians raise their voices in prayer and worship to God every day. But despite the adulation of the faithful, a relative handful of the godless are somehow able to force the All-powerful One to lift His “Mighty Hand of protection” from our schools.

Wow! I never realized that a small number of atheists is so much more powerful than a multitude of believers.

GERRY GENTILE, Boise

Focus on mental health, not guns

Our nation must once again seek lessons from tragedy and find a means to stop mass shootings.

National media is giving blanket coverage to more gun control, yet as a nation we choose to barely acknowledge mental health as the common and primary cause in mass shootings.

We have not learned the best lesson if we focus our time and capital on the means and methods of killing.

Even banishment of guns will not stop the killing. The human mind is too ingenious to long be limited by gun control. Vest bombs, IED, and other weapons will soon take the place of guns.

Those who focus all their well-intended efforts on stricter gun control are ignoring the elephant in our societal living room. Rather, now is an opportunity for our president to start a national, multiyear crusade for mental health: research, diagnosis and treatment.

The recent tragedy will be repeated until we, our nation and our society, focus on the mental health of the individual before another of our 300 millions become the next mass murder.

MARK YOUNG, Meridian

It’s time to talk about gun control

Well, there you go. Three mass shootings in a week’s time — one school, two malls — all right before Christmas, for maximum pain. There goes the old “isolated incident” excuse. For the people of Newtown, Newport Beach and Portland, there also goes the old “it can’t happen here” excuse. I don’t think we should even look at that “the gunman had a troubled past” excuse anymore; ditto for “blame the gunman, not the gun.” It’s time to address the culpability of guns and reduce their presence in our society. When gun violence is this much out of control, we are all at risk.

You don’t keep lions and tigers in your house as pets, and you shouldn’t keep guns in your home for the same reason. If they get loose, they will hurt people, probably kill them. People who turn a blind eye to the dangers of gun ownership are putting all of us in harm’s way. It’s time to talk gun control, and this time proponents have the bigger claim to outrage.

CAROL BACHELDER, Boise

Enforce laws, improve services

I am anguished and angry about the death of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Their deaths may not have been avoided; we will never know that. We can do our best to see that events like this do not happen again.

Well-funded, good mental health services with a strong campaign to encourage troubled people to seek assistance is absolutely necessary for the general health of all of us. This action will help with part of our problems with violence.

Availability of rapid-fire weapons, semiautomatic guns and rifles, and weapons’ ammunition clips that hold numerous bullets is another part. These should be outlawed nationally. Weapon or ammo clip purchases should be limited.

Internet sales of weapons, ammunition and ammo clips should be prohibited.

We must address the regulations dealing with arms sales. Anyone who purchases a weapon of any kind must submit to a well-funded national background check. This check must be done on anyone who purchases a weapon from any source, gun store or individual. No exceptions.

Current legislation regarding weapons and ammunition must be enforced and adequate funding available for enforcement unless those laws contradict the aforementioned items.

MARYEVELYN SMITH, Boise