I find it hard to comment evenly about the Trump assassination attempt, because he has demonstrated repeatedly how little sympathy he has for people other than himself, and because he has been just plain nasty and criminal. But this event brings forth two observations. First, more guns do not increase public safety. The would-be assassin was a lone figure. The police and Secret Service had uncounted numbers of weapons and even snipers.

Second, as in the Book of Hosea, sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. We created our armed culture. Many people, men in particular, believe that guns provide “protection.” This is hardly so. In my lifetime, our country has seen the deaths or woundings of JFK, RFK, MLK, George Wallace, Medgar Evers, Ronald Reagan, Malcolm X, and dozens of other leaders. In the United States, today, July 15, nearly 100 people will die from guns, and eight children. We have sown quite a wind.

Stephen Armstrong

Hadley