Letter: Start small to fix gun violence

How do you eat an elephant? Something my mother asked me when I was frustrated trying to start a project. Silly, I thought, but —

Another mass shooting and more cries for gun control, background checks, mental health and limiting the assault-type rifles. More talk about home defense, the right to bear arms, the Second Amendment and yet nothing gets done.

Back to the elephant. My mother’s answer was, “you eat an elephant one bite at a time”.

Let’s stop trying to fix everything in one motion: start by limiting all gun magazines to five rounds. Pass a federal law that says if you are caught with an oversize magazine you forfeit every gun you own and pay a large fine; if caught twice, go to prison.

I am sure some shooters will say something about how they can swap magazines in a few in seconds. But in those few seconds someone can hide, police can arrive, the gun can jam, the shooter could drop a magazine. The first responders’ times are getting faster through practice and need. First responders understand that every second counts. Let’s give them and the victims those seconds. Let’s eat that elephant, starting with this one bite.