In the wake of the shooting at the Thousand Oaks bar that left 12 dead, The Bee Editorial Board asked readers for their ideas on how gun violence can be prevented. Here are the letters The Bee received:
Let citizens carry guns as they wish
To start off, I must say that my views do not reflect that of organizations I have worked for, including the military. My qualifications to speak on the matter include years of personal research of firearms safety, laws and applications through text, online sources and extensive training from the Marines. I hold the military occupational specialty of combat marksmanship coach and have taught several friends and family how to shoot as a hobby on the side. Here are my thoughts on how to help prevent the likelihood for mass shootings to occur in the future:
The first step to stopping these tragedies from happening is to remove the yellow tape and allow law-abiding citizens to carry their firearms for protection in any place they so wish . There was more than one person in that bar (in Thousand Oaks) who could’ve responded and stopped further mayhem from occurring right from the get-go if they had the training and mindset to stop the shooter dead in his tracks. However, that cannot be the end all be all, that is just the quick fix that is always most effective in the moment.
What needs to happen is an educational revolution among the public in the nation as well as our youth. Here are three main points geared towards our youth: teaching kids how to stand up to bullies, how to be tolerant of others’ beliefs and not bully
