LETTER: Facts point to need for stricter gun laws

Rep. Jim Lucas [Forefront, March 23] ironically calls for “truth, facts, reason, and logic” in discussing common sense gun laws and warns against “giving in to emotion or, even worse, making bad policy based on emotion or ideological belief” after making his emotional argument opposing new gun laws based on anecdotes and over-used, and questionable ideological arguments and assumptions.

Truth, facts, reason and logic lead to very different conclusions. Despite the fact that for over two decades the CDC and other government agencies have avoided gun violence research there is credible data from legitimate sources that clearly shows that the more guns there are the more gun deaths there will be.  

It’s well documented that among developed countries there is a positive relationship between gun ownership and gun deaths. The U.S. has the most guns and the most gun violence. Within the U.S., states that have more guns have more gun deaths. States with stricter gun control laws have fewer gun-related deaths. Most gun deaths are suicides, and states with more guns report more suicides. In states with more guns, more police are killed on duty.  

Rep. Lucas, other members of the Legislature and members of Congress need to take seriously the call to reduce gun violence by the students who gathered in the Statehouse and marched in Washington and other cities and the 67 percent of Americans who support tougher gun laws and legislate based on facts, not ideology.  

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Alex Slabosky
Indianapolis