With the killing of so many students in Virginia, there is an increased focus on the issue of gun control. People are anxious to find a simple solution to the complex problem of violence in our country.

The level of violence to which we are exposed on a daily basis in just the evening news is such that many of our youth grow up inured to the prospect of violence in their lives. This is a significant problem. If gun control alone were an adequate safeguard, Maine and Vermont would have high levels of gun violence and New York City and Washington, D.C., would have low levels. The opposite is true.

If someone wants to kill someone, there are means available, from driving large vehicles into crowds, to setting fires, to being a suicide bomber.

The issue is complex. Please let us not try for a simple but ineffective solution.

Sally R. Weiss, M.D.

Bangor