By failing to demand effective gun control, we have allowed Sandy Hook and other unthinkable tragedies to happen. Twenty children and teenagers die from gun violence every three days in the United States. Gun violence is a pox, and we are scarred by every senseless death.

The argument that gun control doesn’t work is ludicrous because it works in other countries.

Last fall, I spent three months in South Korea, where guns and other weapons are strictly controlled. Gun permits are available except to people under 20, convicted criminals and people with impaired mental capacity. Gun safety classes are required to get a permit. People who own a gun without a permit go to jail.

The rate of homicide by firearms in South Korea is more than 100 times lower than in the United States. I felt very safe in Seoul, a city with 20 million people and a density four times that of New York City.

We can try to figure out why we are so violent and how to improve our mental health services, but if we don’t control access to firearms, a lot of children and other innocent people are going to continue to die.

DIANA BURKE

ROANOKE

Weather Journal

1 day ago