Letters

According to data collected by EducationWeek there have been 119 school mass shootings since 2018. Of these, 88 children died and 213 were injured. Not included in these statistics is the toll of chronic mental and physical trauma that endures in those who survive the carnage and the family members who lose loved ones. It is devastating.

On Jan. 4 I received a phone call from Mr. Juan Amaya from our local veteran service officer. A the time I was out of town. He informed me that on the night of Jan. 3 the house of one of our local veterans had burned to the ground. Mr. Amaya informed me that the family was in distress and all their belongings were lost in the fire. They got out with only the clothes they were wearing. Luckily, they evacuated the home in time.

We here at JohnKnoxVillage in Weslaco joined the nation in remembering our fallen on Memorial Day. A wreath was also placed at the base of our flagpole that also flies the POW/MIA flag 24/7 in remembrance of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Thank you to The Brownsville Herald for your recent strong editorial statement calling on Gov. Abbott to convene a special session of the Texas legislature to pass urgent legislation that will be effective in addressing the gun violence crisis in Texas (May 29). I fully agree with your call for action, although I’m afraid of what the legislature might actually do.

Would you be willing to give up the right to possess unlimited assault weapons, super-sized magazines and ammunition, if it would save the life of one innocent child? If it would save the lives of hundreds of innocent children?

A supporter at one of his rallies shouts, “Shoot them,” referring to illegal immigrants, and Donald Trump giggles and says, “Only in Florida will somebody say something like that.” And the roar of the crowd gets louder.

I saw something that pretty much demonstrates and explains how the

Words cannot describe the pain I feel for the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends and family who didn’t know they had seen their loved ones for the last time in Uvalde on May 24. As many across the country keep asking, when will enough be enough? When will this country do something, anything, to stop the massacre of the innocent? How many more children have to die before politicians in Austin and Washington decide to act? What is the threshold to end the cycle of “thoughts and prayers” and begin the process of action?

How about a modest, commonsense solution to gun management? Not the hysterical right-wing bogeyman of confiscation of guns, deprivation of rights or border invasions.

Once again, our hearts are broken as the result of evil running amok in a school. The tragedy is compounded when it is a repeat murderous assault on the most vulnerable of humans — children in a classroom who looked forward to going home to play and be with their families.