Letter: Study the shooters

In the wake of yet another tragic murder of innocent people, the politicians and gun control groups are marching out in front of the microphones and television cameras to demand "more gun laws" before even waiting for the facts to emerge. In an effort to tout background check bills, Sen. Schumer tried to lay the blame at the feet of the Republicans and the NRA as if they pulled the trigger themselves. Had he taken the time to learn the facts, he would have discovered that, according to ABC News, the shooter passed a background check when he purchased the firearms he U.S.ed. This small and simple fact highlights the fallacy behind the "common sense gun laws" Schumer et. al. are pushing - they measure a person's history, NOT their intentions going forward - and will do little to prevent these events while greatly harming the ability of the law-abiding citizens to exercise their rights.

Furthermore, our fascination with the "quick fix" leads U.S. to blame the tool, not the human behind it. Instead of the divisive call to add to the tens of thousands of already existing gun laws, perhaps we should change the game up this time and work toward something we can all agree on - study the personal, medical, and mental history of each perpetrator of mass shootings to see if there's a commonality between them. It's a lot tougher than just saying "ban guns," but it will certainly prove more fruitful as merely removing the tool, as has been shown, doesn't remove the urge to kill.

As we know the gun did not act on its own, maybe it's time to shift the focus to where it rightly belongs - the person who thought up and executed the crime. I believe we can all get behind that and, in the process, it will yield more U.S.eful results.

Tom Sheridan

Mount Prospect