DAN DECKERT, Benton City

In the wake of all the shootings in the past 12 months, there's a renewed outcry for the introduction of new gun control laws. There's no question the senseless killings were despicable. However, there's a more pressing question that demands to be fully answered: Why did these events happen? These atrocities most certainly were not the actions of any sane individuals.

Mentally deranged individuals who carry out such atrocities have no concerns with respect to the laws that govern today's society. They will continue their dastardly deeds unless they are locked up and are no longer a danger to society.

My question is how do we, as a society, protect against the mentally deranged individuals who commit the aforementioned atrocities? Even more contentious is when those same individuals give no outward indications they are indeed mentally unstable.

New gun laws will not prevent any mentally deranged individual from committing acts of violence if they so decide to embark upon such a path. If there were no guns in the entire world and a mentally unstable individual decided to embark upon a path of death to others, there are plenty of other options available. Think about it. It's scary.