The Editor, Sir:

Monday's shooting tragedy in Virginia will result, legitimately, in another discussion about the right to bear arms in the United States, and the relatively easy access to firearms, especially in southern states.

However, let us not forget that widespread firearms ownership in itself is not negative. It is estimated that every minute in the United States, firearms are used four times to THWART crimes. Following that math, during the three and a half hours it took for the terrible events of Monday to unfold, legal firearms were used by private citizens to stop 840 crimes, some possibly violent.

So, as we mourn the senseless loss of 32 valuable lives, let us not react by making a larger number of potential victims defenceless in the face of crime.

I am, etc.,

STEFAN P.A. BRAND

anynamethatworks@ hotmail.com

Orlando, FL

Via Go-Jamaica