About the editor: Now that we’re facing another mass shooting, we now need to focus on the distraction

The

reported that the shooter was transgender.

status of the shooter.

(“Police Seek Motive as Nashville Shooting Draws Attention of Divided Nation,” March 27)

According to the Violence Project, 98% of mass shooters are male. There are no definitive statistics on the exact number of transgender or non-binary offenders, but there are no more than a handful.

If we really want to protect our children and everyone else, maybe we should focus on men with guns. Or maybe it’s time Americans realized we value the law

of men

We value having guns more than children’s lives.

Keep focusing on peripheral issues and we’ll never have to worry about who we really are again.

Laurie Jacobs, San Clemente

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About the editor: I’m sure the shooter’s motive was anger. The response from the gun lobby will be the same: more guns. Some would say if there were guns in the school it wasn’t enough for self defense.

The words A well-regulated militia necessary for the security of a Free State are there in the one sentence 2nd Amendment. But they are ignored because the Supreme Court tried to downplay them in its 2008 Heller ruling, even though they are clearly there to provide context.

Ronald Webster, Long Beach

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About the editor: I have no problem owning a gun. I own a 9mm handgun purely for self-defense purposes, which thankfully I’ve never had to use. But no one needs an assault rifle for self-defense or hunting. And there is literally no reason to own anything other than to mow down large numbers of people at once who are all too often defenseless teenagers just trying to get through another day of school.

I’m also fed up with the phrase guns don’t kill, people do, because that’s exactly the cliché gun aficionados need to feel good while senseless killings continue unabated.

Robert Archerd, Rancho Palos Verdes

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About the editor: Our children are being slaughtered. We are afraid to send them to schools. We are afraid to go to the supermarket or to pray in our churches. Our country has actually turned into a battlefield. we die here We see your so-called “legislators” the accessory of these death symbols posing with assault weapons on your holiday cards. You say you can’t do anything. They shake their heads, shrug their shoulders and tell us the problem is a mental illness, lack of police presence, even an open door. The solutions you provide? Arm the teachers, give the good guys more weapons, close the door. And don’t send your kids to school to homeschool!

Has your money, your power or your politics wrapped you in a cloak of powerlessness and stupidity? It’s the guns and you’re the problem. Ban offensive weapons or resign.

Kit Kohler, Gardena

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About the editor: A well-known definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. When, if ever, will it be enough? This tragedy will follow the same pattern of prayers, condolences and passing calls to action.

People need to be organized. They must act together and with a loud voice in every city across America to make it clear to members of Congress that the bloodshed of the status quo will allow them to vote out. We’ve done it before. It’s time to do it again.

Sid Pelston, Marina del Rey