Sadly, NRA to remain powerful
1/25/2013You say in your Jan. 20 editorial “Self-inflicted wound” that the National Rifle Association’s attack ad “reveals a shocking disregard for the President’s family, and a level of desperation by the NRA that doesn’t bode well for its future on Capitol Hill.” If only that were true.
Virtually all Republicans in Congress are afraid to tell their constituents and the NRA that they will stop taking NRA political contributions because they can no longer support its position that a limitation on any guns or any ammunition is unacceptable.
It would only take a few Republicans with that kind of courage to reduce the clout of the NRA on Capitol Hill.
VIC PRESUTTI
Dayton
Gun control won’t hurt law-abiders
In response to your Jan. 17 editorial “Staying on target”: I have no problem with anyone who wants a gun for self-protection. But it makes no sense for thousands of people to get shot every year, especially when we compare our grim statistics to those of other countries.
It is ridiculous to have military assault rifles designed for mass killing on the open market, as if we had to protect ourselves from roaming bands of thieves and murderers.
Some people oppose gun control because they fear that registering their guns will lead to the government confiscating them. We regulate auto sales and registration, but no one expects the government to confiscate our cars. Should we end auto registration — or put Army tanks up for sale on the open market?
Gun control does not mean taking guns used for sport or self-defense from law-abiding, mentally competent citizens. It means making it easier to trace them to the owner when used illegally, and doing everything possible to keep them out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them in the first place.
HORACE HUSE
Cresthaven Lane
Ban would not affect type of gun
Some people want to ban assault weapons to prevent the kind of tragedy in Newtown from happening elsewhere. But the killer did not use an assault weapon; he used a semiautomatic rifle, in which one bullet is fired for each pull of the trigger. That rifle would be legal under any assault-weapon ban.
Just because a rifle looks like a fully automatic one used by the military doesn’t mean it is.
TOM GULCH
Valleywood Drive
Mental health, morals are key
Should we ban guns or just assault weapons as we have banned narcotics? Remember the war on drugs? How is that going?
If guns were illegal, criminals would import them.
The murder of young innocents is tragic. However, the gun argument is specious — too easy and convenient.
Let’s direct our outrage and emotional energy at the cause of such horror: society’s failure to care for its mentally ill.
BRETT MENTZER
Kimberly Drive