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News Opinion Letters

Remove the source of stray bullets

This is in response to "22 shot in Chicago over 12 hours, including girl, 11, killed at sleepover" (News, July 19). This time it was 11-year old Shamiya Adams.  Before that, countless others have been killed or wounded by what the media describe as "a stray bullet." That sounds so innocuous, doesn't it? A stray bullet, as if the bullet just decided to leave the box of ammunition and wander aimlessly around your neighborhood, like a harmless cat or dog. But make no mistake: Though these bullets are anything but harmless, it is the guns and the people who intentionally fire them that are at fault. Can we change people's behavior to eliminate such wanton shooting? Perhaps, to some extent. But if we remove the source of these stray bullets, the guns themselves, then no more children will die and no more families will have to grieve as a result.

-- Wayne Rhodes, Deerfield

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