Letter: We know the answers; let's do them

Once again this country has to endure another horrifying school mass shooting. Once again people and especially elected officials, will make empty promises that this time things will be different.

Once again only one country in the world allows this insane carnage to occur with increasing frequency.

We know what the solution is: universal background checks, mandatory waiting periods and red flag laws. Instead, we have a willful misinterpretation of the Second Amendment, along with the removal of gun permit laws and the easy access to weapons whose sole purpose is to maim and kill.

Must parents and children continue to wonder if this will be the day that students and school staff do not return home? How long must families and communities continue to be torn apart by this senseless violence?

We must all summon the courage to ensure that the United States stops being a "failed state" when it comes to public safety.

Christopher and Carol Melby

Arlington Heights,