As a concerned educator and father of a young third grader in our schools, the deadly loopholes in our laws that make it too easy for dangerous people to get guns needs to close. The federal government currently can’t block firearm sales to suspected terrorists, and they must close this deadly loophole in our gun laws immediately.
The bottom line is this: Lax gun laws allow suspected terrorists to buy guns on our soil. Organizations like al Qaeda are well aware of this, and even instruct would-be terrorists to exploit them in the U.S. If you’re a suspected terrorist, you shouldn’t be able to buy a gun. This glaring national security issue needs to be addressed now.
Background checks are supported by over 90 percent of all Americans and are a common sense tool for keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and the dangerously mentally ill.
It is crucial that the Legislature provide more funding for mental health counseling services in our schools and hold our law enforcement accountable when individuals apply the “see something, say something” protocol and leads go unfollowed.
Our entire government — including the top law entity of the land, the FBI — must be held accountable if and when protocols go unfollowed leading to senseless murderous acts to be carried out. Hopefully we can spare our children the terror and senseless deaths if our Congress will actually follow the words in this letter.
It’s time to end the epidemic of gun violence in our country, provide mental health services to those in need, and apply the “see something, say something” protocol prompting our law enforcement personnel to follow up on leads.
We must do what is right for the people of Massachusetts and the United States of America.
Holland Landy
Fall River