Dear Nan,

I fear as long as Congress and state legislators are populated my old men we will not see any meaningful laws passed on this subject. “Thoughts and Prayers” will continue to spill from their withering old lips just as false campaign promises do.

The American psyche is rooted so deeply in personal independence, it’s stymied by a long-standing gun culture, and it maintains a false theory that EVERY American needs to bear arms or perish. The world shakes their head in disbelief at our collective lack of mental growth as a nation, long free of British rule and lawlessness of westward expansion.

Can the medical profession screen young adults as a prerequisite to puberty and/or high school attendance. Maybe some with tendencies toward hate and violence might be discovered before they do harm. Periodic screenings that follow, interactions with others, and professional observations should spot red flags so mandatory interventions can begin.

Require all firearms be insured against misuse, in “accidents”, in crimes, and for theft. Maybe fewer individuals would own weapons considering the added steep expense, and pressure from insurers because then they, insurance companies, would liable for their insured’s misdeeds against others.

And finally, any gun made for the purpose of war should never be in the hands of the general population. You want to hunt? Excellent. Buy, insure, and use your hunting rifle against deer, rabbits and quail. But pistols? Automatic rifles? All should be banned with stiff penalties for those how choose to harbor them. Make such weapons inoperable in the hands of civilians who cannot give them up. Like a boot on a car that’s parked illegally, you can own it, but you cannot use it. And neither can anyone else.

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