I was deeply disappointed to learn that New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella signed onto a lawsuit with 20 other states to challenge an ATF rule change requiring more firearm sellers to perform background checks. It is simply fact that the more guns, the more deaths. On average, there are 68 suicides by gun every day in the U.S. And what happened in Lewiston had shown us that mass shootings are not just events that happen far away, indeed, it seems clearly to be just a matter of time before New Hampshire experiences its own horrific mass shooting.

There is no quick fix (no silver bullet, if you will) that will prevent the ongoing slaughter, but making background checks less avoidable is recognized by almost everyone as simple common sense. New Hampshire fancies itself a paragon of Yankee common sense. Apparently, our Attorney General thinks we should pursue a different ideal: live free and don’t worry about the death toll.

Willem Anton deVries

Durham