It is said that doing the same thing time after time and expecting a different outcome is an indication of insanity. Surely such is the case with respect to our southern neighbour when it comes to gun laws. The penny just doesn’t seem to drop for the republic’s denizens when they are confronted by the fact that the freedom for the local corn flake to stroll into his neighborhood Walmart and emerge with an AK47 and 2,000 rounds of ammo results in a death by firearm rate 400 times greater than that of the rest of the civilized world.
I take issue with the parrot-like bleatings of the NRA, Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, etc. when they lay the blame at the feet of the mentally ill. In actual fact, only a tiny fraction of murders of any kind are committed by mentally ill persons, the overwhelming majority of whom are fearful rather than aggressive. If we accept the proposal that mental illness rather than guns is the cause of the problem, then the U.S.A. must have an incidence of mental illness 400 times greater than the rest of the world.
The real bad guys? Insular, poorly educated, science-denying and gullible rednecks who allow themselves to be persuaded by Liar Tuck and his Fox News cronies that there is a vast conspiracy afoot which is on the point of enslaving them. Just watch the videos of the Jan. 6 insurrection for a couple of minutes; those people and their ilk are the cesspool from which the mass murderers emerge.
John C. Simpson
Oak Bay
