Target the mentally ill, not guns

Gun control as an issue has little to do with the shooter in Tucson who attacked then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) or the one at the Virginia Tech massacre or even John Hinckley Jr. [“To honor Rep. Giffords,” editorial, Jan. 24].

In all of these cases, the issue being ignored is that of mental health and the lack of funds or means to treat these severely ill people. If you find a way to take these people off the street and get them the help they need before the shooting begins, the problem is solved.

Gun control, on the other hand, should be about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals — i.e., street thugs, drug dealers and gang members — and making sure that the good citizens of this country keep their right to be properly armed, in order to help keep the peace, pursuant to the Second Amendment of the Constitution.

Christine Taylor Moller, Reston

The writer is a member of the National Rifle Association.