A recent letter pined for a time in the past when people could carry their shotguns and .22s in the back of their cars and enjoy their hunting pastime [“A different time with guns,” Gazette, Dec. 13]. No one shot each other and society was polite.

Additionally, the writer noted that a person with the IQ of a carrot should know that guns are not the problem since he believes that states with the most regulation have the highest murder rates. We all long for the civility of the past, but unfortunately his conclusion is not based on facts.

It is well established by the CDC and other data that states with gun regulation have lower rates of both homicide and suicide. I am proud to live in a regulated state that has the lowest rate of firearm mortality in the country and the sixth lowest rate of homicide.

The writer complains that California has the highest murder rate in the country, but that too is incorrect. Their total gun mortality is eighth in the country and the murder rate ranks in the lower half of states. It is difficult not to conclude that gun regulation reduces gun mortality. This is even more important for mental health concerns, since most gun fatalities are suicide-related.

The writer can still have his guns and go hunting as he did in the past, but now more safely with sensible regulations as we have in Massachusetts.

Nick Fleisher

Northampton