Opinion: The mass shooting in Kentucky wasn’t front-page news. What a sad commentary on our country

To the editor: What a sad commentary on American values when a mass shooting at a high school — this time in Benton, Ky., on Tuesday — merits a few paragraphs on Page A-11 in the print edition of the Los Angeles Times.

A student brought a gun to school, again. A 15-year-old student called her parents as she lay dying from a gunshot, while another died at the hospital. Seventeen students went to school the usual way but left in ambulances.

Where is the outrage? Where is the affirmation that our children are precious and that their lives should be protected and valued more than profits of the gun industry? What action will be taken against the “responsible” gun owner whose negligence allowed this 15-year-old to go on a shooting rampage?

Safe gun storage requirements, smart gun technology, expanded background checks, banning military-style weapons for civilian use, insurance requirements for gun owners, funding for gun violence prevention research and removing gun industry immunity from lawsuits are but a few of the policies that should be openly and honestly discussed. Let’s get to it before the next mass shooting.

Loren Lieb, Northridge

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To the editor: Another school shooting takes the lives of two students and injures 17. The Times’ article about it appears in print on Page A-11.

How very sad that when teenagers are killed at school by a fellow student, the story is no longer on the front page. Gabrielle Giffords’ quote says it all: “It’s horrifying that we can no longer call school shootings ‘unimaginable’ because the reality is they happen with alarming frequency.”

A mass shooting is no longer front-page news. How very sad.

Janet Holmes, San Clemente

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