Mass shootings have become all too common and suicide rates are climbing, especially in rural areas and among teens.

Nearly two-thirds of the more than 30,000 Americans killed each year by firearms are suicides, and La Plata County has experienced two more just this week.

Recent letters to the editor have focused on the need to turn the tide against deadly gun violence through common sense safety solutions. Our community is rightly concerned about this issue.

There will be a Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense/Indivisible Durango Gun Safety meeting from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, in the Durango Recreation Center, Sunlight Room.

Robin Horn, a Denver-based Colorado state chapter leader of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, will update us on what we can do to help make our communities safer.

You don’t have to be female or a “MOM” to get involved.

Carol Cure

Durango