<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Courtesy of today’s (February 24, 2018) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with thanks to Linda Pike.<div><br></div><div>———————————————</div><div><br></div><div><div><h1 itemprop="headline" class="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 42px; margin: 0px 100px 0px 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Letter: Past time</span></h1></div><div><br></div><div>Enough is enough. Would our congressmen and our state legislators sit by if these slaughtered children were their children or grandchildren? No one needs these weapons of mass destruction. Assault weapons belong in the military and nowhere else.</div><div><br></div><div>Background checks and waiting periods should be mandatory for purchase of guns. We have had guns at our home. My husband was a hunter, and we have both taken gun safety classes. I even took riflery in college, so I am not anti-hunting or against reasonable, responsible gun ownership.</div><div><br></div><div>But background checks and waiting periods should be mandatory, and assault rifles like the ones used in these mass murders should not be legal.</div><div><br></div><div>We get tested to be licensed to drive our cars and even have to show proof of liability insurance. Why isn't more required to buy an gun? A responsible person should have no qualms about waiting and undergoing a background check.</div><div><br></div><div>Apparently the children will have to be the ones to force changes as the adults in charge of enacting legislation appear to have no common sense, empathy or guts to do something.</div><div><br></div><div>Now is past time. Your readers should tell their representatives that they will not get their votes until something is done. Thoughts and prayers are empty words when your child is dead from such violence. Thank you.</div><div><br></div><div>Linda Pike</div><div>Moscow</div></div><div><br></div><div>———————————————<br><br><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div></div></div></body></html>