Redirect resources from gun control to mental health issues

Dear Editor:

According to 2017 FBI Crime in the United States (https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-11.xls) the following murders were committed by the means listed:

15,129—Total murder victims

7,032—Handguns

1,591—Knives or cutting instruments

692—Personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.)

467—Blunt objects (clubs, hammers, etc.)

403—Rifles

264—Shotguns

Recently-passed Initiative 1639 placed great emphasis on so-called “semi-automatic assault rifles” yet murders committed using any rifle accounted for only 2.66 percent of the to...