Deterring Crime

Re: “We Need More Than 3 Strikes to Be Safe From Real Killers,” Commentary, Oct. 20:

I agree that the three-strikes law does not address the problem of the majority of violent crimes in our society; however, neither does gun control. Gun control, like the three-strikes law, is merely a Band-Aid for the larger problem of the breakdown of our society and its values. Gun control may help eliminate some of the senseless, emotionally driven murders in our society, but clearly, if someone is intent on committing a crime of passion, he will not let gun control deter him; he will obtain a gun illegally.

The issue we must address is why such crimes are happening in the first place. When we come up with that answer and begin to rebuild the damaged structure of our society, issues like gun control and the three-strikes law will become obsolete.

KATIE KOEHLER

Aliso Viejo