A March 24 letter (Reader's View: " Hey students, what about texting, driving? ") excoriated students who, after years of waiting (for adults?), had the wherewithal to act on the slaughter of children in our nation's schools. Even babies at Sandy Hook walked out in protest.
The letter asked, "Hypocrisy, thy name is student?" after stating that in 2015, "More than 3,500 people were killed on our roadways by inattentive drivers. By contrast, about 350 were killed by rifles." The letter also said, "If students are truly worried about being killed, why do I witness so many of them texting while they drive?"
I found this interesting, as many months ago I tabulated the number of drivers cited for inattentive driving. I did this because I don't feel the $50 fine is nearly enough. I was amazed to see that many of the drivers were in their 40s and 50s. One was 66.
I believe the letter maligned young people for what the supposed adults are doing as a way of deflecting and discrediting young people. This may be out of a fear the young people are stepping on others' rights.
Students and others protesting are advocating for "sensible gun laws." They aren't opposed to 2nd Amendment rights.
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A reminder: when the 2nd amendment was written, gun users had muzzleloaders that took time to load. No civilian needs an automatic rifle designed to kill as many people as fast as possible.
My father was a gunsmith, hunter, licensed gun dealer, and member of the NRA. I feel confident if he were here today he'd be shocked and would resign from the NRA after seeing the slaughter of our children with guns he never would have used for hunting or self-defense.
We should all applaud the youth for doing the job supposed adults haven't, while nearly monthly we watch slaughters happen.
Mabel Galvin
Duluth
