Dear Editor: This letter is in response to the letter by Nancy Spillane in the July 20 edition of Steamboat Pilot & Today. In her letter, Ms. Spillane repeats the assertion that the current increase in criminal violence using firearms is a public health issue. This increase in criminal activity is not a public health issue; it is a crime issue caused by a loss of respect for the rule of law and for the efforts of law enforcement. There has always been an element of criminal violence using the weapons of the time. If gun control was the solution, Chicago would not have the number of murders it has seen; the city of Chicago and Cook County layer additional regulations on top of the regulations of the state of Illinois, which include the Firearms Owner Identification card. New York City adds regulations on top of the regulations of New York state, including the SAFE Act. Yet criminals continue to obtain any firearms they desire.