Upon returning home from a Christmas trip, I was scanning the unread Daily Inter Lakes and came across a letter to the editor written by Bob Brown on Dec. 27 titled “Don’t let the NRA set the agenda on gun control.” The letter was exceptionally well thought out and written.

It prompted me to express my feelings regarding the placement of guns in the hands of teachers, administrators and other school personnel. This knee-jerk response to the murder of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School is beyond belief. I spent 30 years in education as a teacher, counselor, vice principal and principal of a large high school. I am certain that if someone had told me back then that I or my principal must be armed in school, I would have chosen a different profession.

Add this ridiculous recommendation by the NRA and some of our politicians and others to poor salaries, health care and retirement, and we will certainly experience a shortage of teachers in the future.

We were educated to teach our students in a safe environment without the threat of violence and distraction. Mr. Brown’s letter clearly defines the problem and offers some solutions to begin correcting the killing with guns that is sweeping our nation. Assault rifles have no place in our communities, only in the military and law enforcement. They are of no value to the sportsman and hunters that abide by the laws and regulations of our state and nation. The murder throughout the U.S. is symptomatic of a violent society perpetuated by the easy availability of guns. Will banning assault rifles solve the problem? Probably not entirely, but the killers will not be able to commit mass murder as readily.  

Like Mr. Brown I have hunted many places in Montana and want to protect our right, as sportsmen, to continue. Certainly, the gun organizations are not alone with the responsibility for this major crisis. The movie and TV industry must share some of the fallout from their product. They feed the public with shooting, murder, explosions and foul language in an effort to be entertaining and profitable. Let us not forget the senseless act and the grief of the parents and community around Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, Dec.15, in Newtown, Conn., as we have so many of the other mass murders in the U.S.

Silence from all of us is the same as condoning these acts of murder and violence.

Jerry Reckin is a resident of Kalispell.