To the editor:

I lived in Italy for several years and don’t remember ever hearing about mass shootings. Research shows that they are still rare today.

With the latest shooting in Uvalde, I decided to try to understand the difference between attitudes and regulations in Italy as opposed to the those in the United States.

Anyone over 18 can own a gun in Italy, as long as they meet certain criteria. They have to apply for a firearms license, take a firearms safety course, and have no criminal record. Their physician has to sign a certificate affirming that the potential gun owner does not suffer from drug addiction or mental illness. These rules also apply to people that inherit or are gifted a gun.

The new gun owners must register the firearm with their local police station within 72 hours of taking possession of it. If gun owners sell or give a gun away, they too have to notify local authorities within 72 hours of the gun leaving their hands.

Concealed carry permits exist in Italy but are difficult to obtain and must be renewed every year.

If anyone threatens anyone else and the local police are alerted, they contact the individuals involved and order them to turn over their weapons. If the individuals peacefully surrender their guns, they may reclaim them after a year if they receive a doctor’s certificate attesting to their mental stability.

Semi-automatic or fully automatic rifles or handguns, noise suppressors, silencers, or any kind of military or police-grade weapons are illegal.

In the United States, gun laws vary by state. In Texas, one of the states with less stringent restrictions, there’s no state registry for inherited guns, no background check required for private sales, and anyone with a standard gun license may carry a rifle openly.

In addition to more appropriate gun regulations than those that exist in the United States, mass shootings are less frequent in Italy because mental health is better and substance abuse is less than it is here.

Better mental health and less substance abuse exist in part because Italy surpasses the United States in morality, spirituality, and church attendance. The family unit is very important. Any man in Italy, Spain, France or Portugal who gets a young, single, woman pregnant does so at his own risk from male members of the woman’s family. Single parent families are few and far between. These findings emphasize the importance of family, spirituality, religion and the belief in a universal power greater than oneself.

Generally speaking, we have become an extremely mentally ill country sometimes bordering on insanity. We have become so extreme and polarized that we tend to throw out the baby with the bath water. There is no need to ban guns, but there is a need to develop more appropriate regulations and do a better job vetting people who can own a gun. The major problem in our country regarding the increase in mass shootings is a decline in morals, attitudes and beliefs. The sensationalism involved in twenty-four-hour news coverage; music, video games and TV shows that romanticize violence are also major contributors to the malaise that permeates our country today.

One last thought; it is despicable when a tragedy like Uvalde is used by politicians to further their own agendas. 

Don McCullough

Manhattan