EDITOR:

As of May 26, there were 232 mass shootings (4 or more people killed or injured, not including the shooter) this year in the U.S. On May 30, a mass shooting in Florida killed 2 more and wounded 20. Two days later, Florida’s Governor signed a law banning transgender girls competing in female athletics. The irony is that many who object to government regulation of deadly weapons applaud the government’s intrusion into female sports. Transgender competition is of legitimate concern, but if government is allowed to protect females from transgender competition in sports, shouldn’t it also protect us from malevolent people armed with deadly weapons?

The Second Amendment is not absolute. When hunting is not in season, firearms are restricted in areas frequented by deer. We are scanned and frisked for weapons before boarding an airplane. Are we entitled to protection from gun violence only when we fly? Are human lives less worthy of protection than the animals we hunt for sport? If it is reasonable to check the gender background of a female seeking to compete in a track meet, isn’t it reasonable to check for violence in the background of a firearm purchaser?

Citizens are being killed by guns every day. Unless a serious debate in search of a solution to our gun problem becomes a national priority, the carnage will continue.

Nino E Green

Escanaba