To the Editor:

I like guns as much as anyone. I was the machine gunner for my platoon. I had a .50 cal., M-60 and a M-16A2 and I loved shooting them, but as a civilian I understand first hand why that kind of weaponry has no place in society. I know gun enthusiasts try to justify owning assault weapons but if you make it easy for law abiding citizen to get them what’s stopping criminals from getting them too? It just becomes an arms race where tens of thousands of lives are loss yearly to support some mentally ill philosophy of gun ownership. So are we really exercising our constitutional right to bear arms or are some just abusing that right for profit and recreation? Because that is not responsible citizenship.
Doing something just because you can despite the consequences isn’t being responsible. It’s a selfish abuse of your rights at the expense of others. That is not what the second amendment is about or what it was intended for You don’t need a gun that fires 30 rounds a second for any reason unless you’re hunting Godzilla or velociraptors. The last time I checked there weren’t any! So if the N.R.A. believes responsible gun control revolves primarily around preventing the mentally ill from having guns then they should be who are the main reason criminals and crazies get their hands on assault weapons in the first place.

Chris Murray
Madison
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Printed in the February 7, 2013 edition