To the editor:

This is about the recent shootings around the nation, i.e., Pittsburgh, Pa., Binghamton, N.Y., and others.

While many of our U.S. citizenry are clamoring for more gun laws, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stated, “We need to enforce the gun laws that we have.”

This brings to mind the issue of background checks, as required by law before purchase of a firearm can be made. Background checks, for the most part, are adequate. However, sometimes, background checks fail to ferret out an applicant’s history of mental illness.

The shooter on Virginia Tech’s campus had a long history of mental illness, which included involuntary hospitalization for mental issues, as well as aftercare.

Investigation revealed that the shooter legally purchased firearms in the states of Virginia and Wisconsin. Background checks were made in the two states, as far as the laws permitted.

While I haven’t a clue whether Congresswoman Pelosi’s comment was politically motivated, I strongly believe that “political correctness” should not trump public safety.