Gun violence, LIRR tickets, protection against sharks

Put the guns away in a safe place

As a new school year begins, we all hope that every child is safe, healthy, and ready to learn. Unfortunately, that hope has already been broken by the senseless gun violence at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, where two children, 8 and 10, were killed “2 children dead in Minneapolis school shooting,” News, Aug. 28].

Protecting kids is everyone’s responsibility — and one urgent, preventable threat is unsecured firearms. Guns are this nation’s leading cause of death for children and teens. Nearly 360 children unintentionally shoot themselves or others each year, often after finding an unsecured gun.

About 75% of school shooters access weapons from parents or relatives, and in youth suicides involving a gun, 80% come from a family home. Secure storage saves lives. Locking and safely storing firearms doesn’t limit ownership — it ensures children and unauthorized individuals can’t access them.

Last week, that was the focus of national SMART Week 2025, acknowledging the 10th year of Be SMART for Kids. Advocates, law enforcement, veterans, health care workers, schools and community groups shared resources and hosting events to promote secure storage.

The goal isn’t judgment but safety. Together, we can make safety more than just a hope this school year.

— Janet Goldstein, East Meadow

The writer is co-leader of the state chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

While our nation grieves along with the families impacted by last week’s horrific mass shooting, merely extending “thoughts and prayers” rings hollow. I do not want to hear politicians offer prayers if they are unwilling to accompany words with actions. I do not want to hear that guns are not the problem when they clearly are.

If guns make a society safer, as some argue, the United States, a nation with more firearms than people, would be the safest nation in the world. It is not. In the absence of meaningful reform, one is left to wonder, does America love its guns more than its children?

Gun rights enthusiasts will cite the Second Amendment and the need to preserve freedom when arguing this issue. But what about the children? What about their freedom? What about their right to attend school, pray, return home to their parents, dream, grow, and imagine a future? What about their unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

Like the families of other victims of gun violence, these families will be forever changed. Will this nation honor the memories of these children through action? Will America love its children more than its guns?

— Carolyn Faggioni, Bellmore

The writer taught at Sacred Heart Academy for nine years and at Floral Park Memorial High School for 30 years.

I’m absolutely stunned and sick over our latest tragedy. This is not the American in which I grew up in the 1950s, and it must change — now!

This is a beginning: Anyone who buys ammunition for a gun should be vetted and licensed annually by the federal government. All ammunition should be taxed at least at the rate of a pack of cigarettes. No more 50 cent bullets. And no more ammunition for anyone deemed mentally ill.

— Edward Fannon, Merrick

LIRR’s 4-hour ticket limit hinders riders

Paying for a trip to Manhattan on the Long Island Rail Road will become a challenge for some passengers [“If LIRR lowers fares, more will ride trains,” Letters, Aug. 15]. Luckily for me, the Hicksville train station still has a human providing tickets so I can purchase a senior ticket.

I do not need an e-ticket since my trips to Manhattan are too infrequent to set that up. I never know how long it will be before I return so the four-hour time restriction could invalidate my ticket. If I miss the time restriction, that’s one unnecessary monetary loss. The only positive is that the peak morning commute would accept a senior ticket.

We’re encouraged not to drive into the city, but with all these new limitations, it makes it difficult to try to adhere to those wishes.

— Adrienne Horowitz, Old Bethpage

Protect beachgoers with shark netting

So we have a proliferation of shark sightings off the South Shore [“Great whites are flocking north,” Health & Science, Aug. 25]. Wouldn’t it be prudent to install shark netting off at least one public beach to make it safer for children and adults to swim in those areas?

Wouldn’t that investment be worthwhile if it saves one life and increases public safety and encourages safe swimming?

— Howard Mandell, Northport