Letter: Closer look at mass killings

A recent letter cited four mass killings — Fort Hood, the Boston Marathon, San Bernardino and Orlando — and asked, “Who was responsible — radical Jews, radical Christians, or radical Muslims?” I’m wondering why this question was asked. You decide.

I have my own list. Unfortunately, space does not allow my listing the additional 29 mass killings in this country since the year 2000. But the list includes Virginia Tech, 32 dead; Binghamton, N.Y., 13 dead; Aurora, Colo., 12 dead; Sandy Hook at Newtown, Conn., 27 dead; and Washington, D.C., 12 dead. Muslims were not the perpetrators of the killings on this long list.

We shouldn’t promote bigotry against an entire group of people because of the evil committed by some since, throughout time, atrocities have been committed in the name of practically every religion. The Ku Klux Klan regards itself as a Christian society, but does it represent Christianity?

Except for the Boston Marathon, the mass killings in the last 16 years have one thing in common. They were carried out with guns in the hands of people who should not have been allowed to have them and, in many cases, were committed with assault weapons that should only be in the hands of the military and law enforcement.

Regardless of motive, let’s face the fact that we alone in the civilized world keep killing our own because we can’t pass sensible gun laws.

This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Letter: Closer look at mass killings."