To the editor:

The headline in the Dec. 15 Journal-World concerning the killings in Newton, Conn., was ironically telling: “Little anyone can do.” Certainly, nothing more could have been done that day at Sandy Hook Elementary School, but much can be done to distinguish such violence.

Intelligent and protective gun control legislation must be enacted to begin the process of societal change. America can no longer be the wild, wild west. We must join the civilized world and severely restrict gun ownership. If we can change attitudes about drunken driving and smoking in public places we can make responsible decisions about the proliferation of machines designed for the sole purpose of killing people. We have reached a stage of near insanity with our tolerance of easy access to absurd, senseless, and obscene weaponry.