Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

In the Saturday, April 1, edition you published a letter pleading for “common sense gun laws,” saying it is time “TO DO SOMETHING!” and blaming the NRA.  As usual, there is no explanation of what that is.  Just what would the writer DO if the power was handed to her?  It is time for this type of complainer to STOP puling and whining and be constructive.  But, alas, it is not within them to know anything about the subject.  

First, she needs to understand the weapon she has been told to hate.  It is semiautomatic, it loads itself before the shooter has to pull the trigger again.  It is not an assault weapon, they are defined by another law and extremely hard to get.  The AR stands for Armalite Rifle the people who developed the frame.

Second, the NRA does fight to protect the 2nd Amendment, a much-maligned part of our Constitution.  But it is a convenient scapegoat for agitators bent on subverting the Constitution.  The NRA at least has a function that promotes gun safety and etiquette, its detractors have only stomped their feet and demanded compliance with their views.  

Third, the phrase “common sense gun laws” has been tossed about so much it no longer has a meaning.  Or, perhaps, only the speaker knows the definition.  I am for “common sense gun laws” but I am sure they are starkly different from the vision of the writer.  So, whose common sense will prevail?

Lastly, has anyone asked why the writer’s statistics include the tragedy of youth suicides, which make up over half of the gun “incidents?”  Is it to make us believe her or to be shocked into intemperate action that is far from common sense?  Why did these shootings not happen when automatic weapons (think Tommy guns) were lawful and available?  Maybe it was a society in which personal responsibility played large. Why do the Swiss not have a problem where their military takes military weapons home?  Maybe it is not the weapons but the society that is at fault here, maybe we need people to talk about uniting us rather than screaming, “Why are you not doing what I want?”

For every time a liberal asks me, “Why do we need an AR style (legal) rifle,” I ask, “Why do you need (illegal) marijuana?”  No good responses so far.

Edward Marty

Turnersville