Responses to mass shootings should include those wounded

As we mourn the 22 dead in Texas and the nine more gunned down in Ohio, we send out the requisite “thoughts and prayers” to the families of those who were killed. And we forget about the dozens more wounded in every such assault, victims who survived but who will have to deal with physical and emotional scars, often for the rest of their lives.

I’m in that group as a gunshot survivor. However, I’m not asking for sympathy for myself, but rather that as we assess the toll of gun violence to decide if a response beyond thoughts and prayers is warranted, we remember not just the body count, but the pain and suffering inflicted on the survivors, as well.

Dan Murphy

Everett