Editor,

When will enough be enough? We are all horrified when we hear news such as the Charleston, S.C., church massacre. Less than 24 hours after the shooting, President Obama says, “We do know that once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun.”

“At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this kind of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn’t happen in other places with this kind of frequency. It is in our power to do something about it.”

n In April, Dylan Roof purchased the handgun from a licensed dealer after passing the required background check.

n Roof carried the loaded gun in violation of a South Carolina state law, which requires a permit to carry a loaded gun in public.

n Roof possessed the loaded gun in a church, which is in violation of a separate South Carolina state law which makes it illegal to do so (even with a permit) without the specific permission from the church leadership.

n Roof possessed the loaded gun within 1,000 feet of the school, across the street from the church, which violates the Federal Gun Free School Zone Act.

n Roof had the time to reload the handgun five times during the shooting.

Again, I must ask, when will enough be enough? The background check didn’t work. Laws against possessing the firearm didn’t work. Laws such as those have never worked and never will.

What is particularly disturbing is that Roof had the time to reload the firearm five times during the shooting?

One simple fact — it was next to impossible for any of his victims to be able to legally possess and carry a loaded firearm of their own to defend themselves. And that is what the vast majority of mass shootings have in common, not only the unwillingness of the victims to take measures to protect themselves, but more often than not it is also illegal for them to be able to do so.

Don’t get me wrong, the responsibility for this horrible crime falls on one person and one person only -—Dylan Roof. But when will enough be enough and we stop trying to make it more difficult and more socially unacceptable for good people to be able to defend themselves?

John Havercroft

Stanwood