It is unseemly for the Press Herald to run an op-ed piece by Chris Cox, the National Rifle Association’s hatchet man for gun rights, seeking to pass the blame for recent and continuing tragic gun deaths on to the underfunded mental health programs of the state and nation (“Commentary: Exploiting tragedy to demand more gun control impedes real solutions,” Sept. 15).

From kids shooting their siblings with parents’ guns found in pocketbooks or lying around, disgruntled ex-employees shooting broadcasters on live television, to mass shootings in schools and movie theaters, it is the easy availability of weapons in our society, unlike every other democratic country, that is the cause of gun violence.

Addressing mental health service cutbacks is an important national goal, but I don’t see the NRA standing up for the Affordable Care Act or universal health care.

In fact, their primary reason for being is to fund right-wing politicians who protect gun manufacturers from tort liability for the inevitable consequence of their products, while repeatedly seeking to kill the ACA.

You might as well run an op-ed piece by a Taliban spokesman blaming terrorism on lack of mental health care in Afghanistan as run this piece.

Shame on you for giving Cox this chance to spread his disinformation.