HILLSBOROUGH: We can’t solve problems by blaming each other

To the editor:
The recent mass murder in Isla Vista, California, has brought out the worst in our society in more ways than one.
The first and most notable is that a deranged man could murder six people and wound 13 more because he believes that life is unfair.
The other vice is how quickly and unflinchingly we can use this travesty to point fingers at our enemies, particularly those who do not deserve it.
The National Rifle Association has, for one reason or another, been one of the media’s most talked-about scapegoats.
Richard Martinez, who lost his son in the Ilsa Vista murders, made an emotional speech after the incident in which he blamed the NRA for his son’s death more than he did the actual killer.
"Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’s right to live?" Martinez said.
Criticism of the NRA has derived from their opposition to universal background checks, mental health checks, magazine capacity limits and the assault weapons ban. If the NRA supported these bills and they gone into effect, the Ilsa Vista murders would not have taken place, right?
Wrong. While these bills failed on a national level, California’s state legislature passed all four of the gun control measures years ago. None of them prevented what happened in Ilsa Vista.
So why are so many people vehemently blaming the NRA for opposing measures that, as we have clearly seen, are ineffective at preventing these tragedies?
There’s a reason why people aren’t blaming knives (which killed half of the victims) or cars (which wounded four bystanders) for what happened in Ilsa Vista — they aren’t on anybody’s political agenda. All of things that do get blamed for tragedies like these (guns, video games, culture, etc.) are things that people are trying to regulate, ban or otherwise change. Thus, these horrific events are turned into something to use to their advantage.
Let’s not kid ourselves when we say that only ones who jump to conclusions are our opponents; both sides do it. Conservatives will shame Democrats for trying to use the victims of Ilsa Vista to forward their political agenda, but will then use the victims of the Benghazi attack to hurt the credibility of a political opponent. The reason that we cannot get anything done on Capitol Hill is not because we disagree on issues. It’s because we are too busy playing the blame game to find common ground.
We cannot throw mud at our opponents and expect them to work with us. To solve our nation’s problems, we need accurate thinking and teamwork, not politics and mudslinging.
Carter Post 
Hillsborough 