I am writing in response to the recent letter to the editor about Democrats and gang members [”Democrats and gang members,” April 24]. I agree with the writer that it is sad that no Democrats stood up to acknowledge the profound grief this woman is experiencing over the murder of her daughter. But I feel compelled to point out that the Republicans have time and again been uncaring towards victims of gun violence, in particular the mass shootings that have taken place in so many of our schools. I would also like to point out that it has not been proven that any of the men sent to the prison in El Salvador were gang members, indeed that there is no evidence that they are, regardless of what President Donald Trump and ICE officials have been saying. The fact that these men were denied due process means that no connection to gangs will ever be proven.

Death by violent means is always tragic and results from treating another human or other humans as somehow less than ourselves. As a society we need to address the issue of violence towards others in every form that it takes. This affects us all; it knows no party lines.

Elizabeth Lareau Whitcomb

Northfield