The editorial “Tragic deaths emphasize need for firearm safety” (WP July 7) seems to have missed the forest for the trees.
The authors state “Charlotte Jolly might be alive today if a group of teen boys had not found a rifle in the back of an old Cadillac.” Perhaps a more apt statement would have been, “Charlotte Jolly might be alive today if a group of teen boys had not committed a series of indictable criminal offenses, culminating in the murder of a young girl.”
Ms. Jolly’s death is certainly tragic and needless. However, demanding stricter firearm control regulations will do nothing to prevent these sort of tragedies in the future. Regardless of the use of a firearm, one of those youths made a decision to murder Charlotte Jolly. That decision is what killed her.
As for the others, a rudimentary course in firearm safety would do more than any storage regulations ever could.
Justin Loran,Edmonton, Alta.
