Letter to the editor: It should be harder to get a weapon.

As a responsible, gun-owning family, we support basic measures to reduce the number of guns making their way into the wrong hands. We support banning assault weapons, raising the minimum age to purchase a gun, universal background checks, eliminating bump stocks, preventive gun seizures, etc.

It is frustrating that even these steps apparently would not have prevented the brutal death of our neighbor, 36-year-old Sokha Khuon, on Jan. 7. Her partner, an avid hunter and father of their three children, had no criminal record before, police say, he stole her life with a gun.

We need our leaders to protect the American people and children by making it harder to get a weapon. We must invest in domestic violence prevention, support victims escaping abuse and hold perpetrators accountable. More stringent control over access to guns will reduce gun violence.

Philip and Sue Hawes

Portland

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