NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA

Opinion

December 20, 2012

On the issue of gun control

To the editor:

The brutal holiday season shootings in a Connecticut grade school have brought gun control advocates to the fore again. Cases will be made by and for advocates and opponents alike in another might/right adversarial exchange of words.

Unfortunately, “context” is often omitted by both sides. Shame on the drafters of the Constitution for not having the foresight to understand what two-plus centuries of “progress” would deliver. Consider their entreaty for a “right to bear arms” given the “temper” of their time. And ask how many deaths would have occurred if the arms bearer had to stop and “re-powder” a musket before “dropping a ball” in the barrel. How smart could the drafters have been in not realizing that even Elmer Fudd might have been less vexed with an AK-47?

James Ryan

Newburyport

Text Only | Photo Reprints

NDN Video
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage Trout's cycle a boost for Angels Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery Shakira's Shocking Talent Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill DWTS Crowns a Winner Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
Special Features
NRA Waterfront Plans