Dear Editor:
Thank you for mentioning European countries in your research, specifically Switzerland. I think that we can learn and adopt many solutions for our political issues from a well-established socialist country. Gun control is one of them. The reason why Switzerland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership, yet few mass shootings have to do with WHO and HOW a person can purchase a gun. The United States lacks a proper system to ensure that a gun is not sold to a person with mental health issues. American shooters who lack mental care, although may not have a criminal background, are able to purchase a gun with ease. In Switzerland so much as an expression of violent behavior is enough for sellers to not sell. Switzerland has an extensive registry of every citizen with a firearm. Contrary to the United States we have one database in West Virginia to register and track these weapons without the use of technology. American gun owners have an issue with stricter regulations and scream that their freedoms are being taken away while Switzerland gun owners comply with the laws of their government and as a result have proven that more regulations are safer for their country. It is one of the reasons that they have had few deaths from COVID-19, they complied with the law and were able to maintain a low number of cases. I am not sure that our country is ready to adopt another form of handling gun ownership when the issue is heavily politicized. The argument is not “more guns equal less violence” rather more regulations on guns results in less mass shootings.
Henry Kenn
Saturday, July 27, 2024
