To the Editor:

I have been giving a great deal of thought to the issue of gun violence in our nation for some time. I grew up in a home with many guns, as my father was a game hunter and collector of guns.

We had relatively solid safety training, both with my father and with a close friend’s father. However, I cannot understand why there is no real gun control outside of some basic laws that do nothing to stop the spread of weapons, particularly to criminals and people with mental disorders. We have seen too many random acts of violence in our schools, in shopping centers and in places of work. Why is it that the NRA has such a stranglehold on our politicians?