Letters to the Editor: Mass shooting in San Jose, looser gun laws in Texas -- our firearms insanity continues

To the editor: The supporters of a Texas bill to allow people to carry handguns without a license, background checks or training say the bill will abolish “unnecessary impediments to the constitutional right to bear arms.”

The full text of the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution is, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

There is nothing well-regulated about the Texas bill the governor says he will sign, nor are the almost two dozen other states that allow “some form of unregulated carry of a handgun” regulating their guns in a way that can be called well.

It is past time for our elected representatives and the courts to fully examine the 2nd Amendment and properly apply it to guns and militias.

Susan Chamberlin, Santa Barbara

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To the editor: When my father passed away, my mother inherited his handgun, which had always been hidden away, separately from ammunition, never taken out.

A few years later she developed dementia and used that gun to protect herself from people she felt threatened by, including the mailman, the FedEx guy and her bookkeeper of 10 years. That gun was a great comfort to her as she descended further into dementia.

Fortunately, a family member found out and was able to remove the gun. If she were alive today, Texas lawyers would probably urge her to sue that family member.

Common sense has left the building.

Sue Raymond, Montrose

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To the editor: Eight people were killed by a lone gunman in a mass shooting in San Jose. Is the answer better gun control? No, because there always be guns in this country. What do we need? Mental health availability and all that entails.

What else? Corporations that understand their duty of care for their employees. As we saw in San Jose, a disgruntled employee killed eight of his co-workers.

Mentally unstable employees tip their hand before any overt action takes place. In 54 years of employment, I have seen this “blindness” by employers repeatedly.

I wish employers cared as much about their employees’ health and welfare as they do their bottom line.

Pam Evans, Norwalk