Gun violence: When will we do more than think and pray? Letters
Gun violence: When will we do more than think and pray?
April 11 − To the Editor:
It is 3:11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, and I can’t sleep. I keep having the titles of articles on gun violence reverberate in my mind. There are so many, and they are all compelling. Some have refrains of common songs of our nation, such as “Gun Violence, when will we ever learn?” Others feature the locations of mass shootings, such as at a “car wash” in Pennsylvania in 2018, or a particular feature of the guns used like learning about “bump stocks” in the mass shooting on October 1, 2017, in Las Vegas when 58 were killed and almost 500 injured in the deadliest shooting in our country so far. Some titles could of course feature the type of gun: “AR-15s, the gun of choice in mass shootings” (which the gun rights folks say are not assault rifles, just sporting guns, or tactical rifles, whatever that means).
So yesterday, it was a mass killing in Louisville, Kentucky, in a bank. The first thought of most; I hope it was not kids again, not nine-year-old children again like in Nashville just a week or so ago, or six- or seven-year-old children again like in Sandy Hook in December 2012 when twenty first graders were murdered, along with seven adults. No, it was only five adults killed this time, and eight reported injured including three officers, as if that is a consolation.
Here are the simple facts of gun violence.
The country known for gun violence everywhere around the world is the United States, not Great Britain, or Canada, or Australia, but the United States. We have more than twenty-five times the mass shootings and gun violence of those similar nations. We’ve had 377 school shootings since Columbine in 1999 (Washington Post) and we still offer only “thoughts and prayers.” So far this year we’ve had 11,628 killed by guns, including 146 mass shootings. So far this year 71 children aged 0-11 were killed and 403 teens aged 12-17 were killed by guns (Gun Violence Archives). We still, as a country, offer only “thoughts and prayers.”
The political party supporting gun violence is the Republican Party, the party with a scarlet “R” after their name. The votes that such legislators make repeatedly, in any state (including our New Hampshire Republican legislators and Governor, or in Tennessee, for example) or nationally in Washington DC, are always to keep things basically unchanged. They offer only “thoughts and prayers,” nothing more. In Tennessee they even expel legislators who are crying, pleading to do something to end this scourge of gun violence, along with thousands in the streets of Nashville crying, pleading for actions, not words. The political party with legislators who have a scarlet letter “R” after their name do everything in their power to keep things unchanged and to keep the epidemic of gun violence unchanged, with guns unfettered, gun violence undeterred.
These are some of the headlines in my mind, some of the horrendous thoughts that are keeping me awake night after night, as gun violence surges through the schools, banks, factories, churches, streets of our nation. It is now 4:49 a.m. and I still can’t sleep. When will we ever learn?
Leonard Korn, MD
Portsmouth
Bank of America applauds Portsmouth and Portsmouth400 for year-long celebration
April 10 − To the Editor:
After five years of planning and effort by many dedicated people, Portsmouth’s 400th anniversary celebration is at long last underway. As President of Bank of America New Hampshire and presenting sponsor of the Portsmouth400 (PNH400), I want to applaud the Portsmouth community for coming together to celebrate this important historical milestone for our city and state.
The motto of Portsmouth400 is “History Lights Our Way.” Throughout this year, visitors and residents will enjoy a robust calendar of special events and programs that explore Portsmouth’s history, and how this history has shaped Portsmouth into the social, cultural, and economic center that it is today.
Through it all, Bank of America stands proudly alongside these efforts as the presenting sponsor. We’ve committed $50,000 and many volunteer hours to support PNH400’s signature events, from the opening ceremony on New Year’s Eve to the Grand Parade coming up in June to the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show this fall.
As a company, Bank of America’s own history in New Hampshire goes back over a century, and our commitment today is stronger than ever. We believe creating meaningful connections in the communities we serve is one of the most important investments we can make.
In 2022 alone, Bank of America invested over $1 million in New Hampshire through philanthropic grants and sponsorships to organizations in Portsmouth and other communities we serve. This support is helping to drive economic mobility and social progress, with a particular focus on advancing racial and ethnic equality. Visit about.bankofamerica.com/en/local/new-hampshire to learn more.
Please join us in celebrating all that makes the city of Portsmouth and the state of New Hampshire such a special place to live and work by participating in the PNH400 program of events. Find the full schedule at portsmouthnh400.org.
Ken Sheldon
President
Bank of America - New Hampshire
Reflections on the 60th anniversary of the sinking of the Thresher
April 9 − To the Editor:
I was assigned to the troop transport ship, USS Paul Revere, when word came that fateful morning of April 10, 1963, that a nuclear submarine was lost at sea, 220 miles east of Cape Cod. For most of us, the news was heartbreaking and we were left with a profound sense of grief for the 129 men who went down with the ship. A shipmate later told me that his brother went down with the Thresher.
In Kittery, a 129-foot flagpole was dedicated to mark the 50th anniversary of the sinking, according to the Portsmouth Herald.
On this 60th anniversary of the Thresher, the memories of the submarine’s sinking have faded and there are few left who would recall the heartbreaking news that their sons were lost at sea. But the generations who were left behind can perhaps take comfort in knowing that their loved ones did not die in vain.
Brian Stuckey
Denver, Co.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Gun violence: When will we do more than think and pray? Letters
