Western Editorial Sampler: Water (too little) and guns (too many) ...

— The Colorado River: Water will become more valuable — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial ...The day may come, in the not too distant future, that holding rights to Colorado River Basin water may be like owning stock in Hostess Brands or Lehman Brothers. Even the most ironclad legal document won't help you get your share of something that isn't there. The U.S. Department of the Interior Wednesday released the results of a three-year examination of the past, present and future of the Colorado River Basin. The bottom line should be a surprise to no one: The population of the seven states that draw much of their water from the river and its tributaries is continuing its rapid growth, even as the amount of water that can be drawn from that system is likely to do nothing but shrink. The only questions are, by how much and what are we going to do about it. ...

— Pumping desert water — Deseret News Editorial ... The controversy over whether Nevada draws water from beneath fragile desert valleys in Utah offers few ideal alternatives. ...

— Massacre demands safety solutions — Ogden Standard-Examiner Editorial ... The most important objective is protecting children in schools. We can't have schools become a location where we fear for our children's lives. And they are not as safe as they once were. Regardless of what crime statistics may reveal, there is a disturbing emergence of sociopathic insanity among younger adults. Their odd, sometimes aggressive, anti-social behavior is noticed by family, friends and others, but no action is taken. The end result of this dysfunction is planned mass murder at close range, often followed by planned suicide. ...

— A critical mass on U.S. gun violence? — Denver Post Editorial

— Obama could stop school massacres — Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial

— National commission must address gun violence — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial

— We were way beyond 'tipping point' on gun violence before Connecticut — Sacramento Bee Editorial

— Trying, again, to ban assault weapons — Los Angeles Times Editorial

— Guns and mental illness — Los Angeles Daily News Editorial

— Now is the time for action on some gun limits — Arizona Daily Star Editorial

— Make Newtown not just another mass killing — Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial

— Deliver, Mr. President: It's time for Obama to make gun control a top priority — Eugene Register-Guard Editorial

— What is there to say about the unspeakable? — Tulsa World Editorial

— Solution to mass shootings must become priority — Oakland Tribune Editorial