1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

What happened in Twin Falls on August 2nd should never have been possible. Jordan Salinas is being called a hero for stopping Chad Williams from killing more than three people at an In-N-Out Burger. He is. But no country that calls itself civilized should require its citizens to train for combat just to eat lunch. As of that Monday morning, there had already been at least 280 mass shootings in the US this year. That is not a statistic any peer nation comes close to matching. Congress needs to ban the sale of assault-style rifles and crack down hard on ghost gun manufacturing and distribution. Williams walked into a crowded restaurant with a rifle. Salinas had to draw from a shoulder holster to stop him. The fact that a caregiver felt compelled to train with firearms because he knew he and his brother in a wheelchair were "soft targets" tells you everything about how badly this country has failed its people. Other nations have enacted serious gun regulations and their mass shooting rates reflect it. Ours reflect the absence of political will. Vote to ban assault rifle sales. Support legislation that punishes ghost gun participants with real consequences. The heroism of one armed bystander is not a policy. It is a tragedy dressed up as a success story.