But not AR-15s

Texas GOP to attend NRA convention in Houston in wake of school shooting | May 25

Having lived in Texas for 22 years, I understand Texas culture and the undeniable fact that the overwhelming majority of gun owners are law-abiding citizens exercising a constitutional right. However, I thought Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was disingenuous to assert in Uvalde that because it has been legal in Texas for 18-year-olds to purchase long guns for 60 years, recent school shootings are simply the result of mental health problems. But AR-15s with large magazines have not been available for teenagers to purchase for the past 60 years.

Susie Hoeller, Lutz

A template

A killer’s warnings | May 26

I’ve created a template for media coverage of mass shootings: A mass shooting (fill in the blank with day) in (fill in the blank with location) resulted in the death of (fill in the blank with number) and the wounding of (fill in the blank with number) others. The suspect, who used (fill in the blank with weapon(s) used: a gun/a rifle/an AR-15-style rifle), (fill in the blank with: escaped/was wounded/was killed). Meanwhile in Washington, Senator (fill in the blank with name) offered (his/her) “thoughts and prayers.”

Rick Carson, St. Petersburg

Put in the same effort

A killer’s warnings | May 26

I would like to see the same effort to suppress access to assault rifles as is put into suppressing access to books and historical facts.

Gail A. Reynolds, Dade City

We need rent regulation

Tampa Bay has the 3rd most ‘overvalued’ rent prices, study finds | May 4

I am a new resident of Florida; having moved here in January 2021 to be closer to my son and his family as well as other members of my family. I found a very nice apartment. That is until I received my recent rent increase. While I did expect my rent to go up, I didn’t expect an increase of over 30%. After doing some research, I found that there is no rental increase regulation in the state of Florida. I find this very upsetting since there are so many residents on a fixed income here; including myself. After reading an article about the large number of retirees and senior citizens opting to move out of Florida because of the severe cost of living increases, I think it might be time to address the issue of rental regulations.

Jane Calka, Lutz