Letters: When will our legislators act to reduce gun violence?

"Over what should have been a weekend of gratitude and family gatherings, our communities were confronted once again with devastating headlines of gun violence. The loss of innocent lives at a children's birthday party near Stockton is a heartbreaking reminder of how fragile safety has become in this country. How many more lives must be cut short? Gun violence in the United States continues year after year, leaving behind families with grief, children carrying trauma into their classrooms and neighborhoods living in fear."

"It is now critically obvious that there is a desperate need for a change in the building code in regards to vehicle crashes. Too many accidents involving cars penetrating store and restaurant walls are occurring year after year. It doesn't matter if the business is an office or a store; customer and employee safety is being compromised. 7-11 stores have gotten the message after years of recurring accidents, and now each store location has a wall of closely spaced safety bollards surrounding each building's perimeter."

A mass shooting at a children's birthday party near Stockton resulted in multiple deaths and renewed fear about community safety. Families face grief and children carry trauma into classrooms and neighborhoods. The appeal emphasizes protecting innocent lives rather than removing rights and calls for leaders to respond with urgency. Frequent incidents of vehicles penetrating storefronts reveal gaps in building codes that compromise customer and employee safety. Some businesses, like 7-11, have added closely spaced bollards. The message calls for code updates and protective measures to prevent further injuries and deaths.

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