I am all for the Second Amendment as it is written – to include the part about the “Well Regulated Militia” (whatever that is), just so long as the application is limited to the technology of the time that it was written. That is to say, muzzle-loaded, single-shot weapons.

There is no way the authors of the Constitution could possibly have envisioned the weaponry of today. They are clearly outside the scope of the Second Amendment and should be regulated and/or banned as necessary to protect the population.

Lest this seem extreme, machine guns, cannons, bazookas, etc., are banned. Where …

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Re: “Senate rejects background checks, other gun measures” (TNT, 4-18).

I can’t believe the comments I heard about the bill in the Senate that would have required background checks on all gun purchases.

One commenter stated that this law would not have prevented the Sandy Hook tragedy. It might not have but it could prevent a future one.

Another made a statement about it infringing on his Second Amendment rights. Where in the Second Amendment does it state that it is illegal to require a background check? Law-abiding individuals would be able to buy all the guns they wish; it …

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Re: “Good luck taking on the US military” (letter, 1-24).

The problem is that due to complacency of many citizens of this once great country, many have lost sight of what our founding fathers could see when they wrote the Constitution (to include the Second Amendment).

I am saddened that the current administration is using these unspeakable events at Sandy Hook Elementary School and other recent places to further its political agenda. If that were not the case, the administration would be attacking the mental health issue and the violent movies and video games with at least as much …

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Why is our respect for the Constitution only partisan deep?

Over the last 11 years, I’ve noticed that people only respect the Constitution when it fits their parties’ political motives. When the Patriot Act was passed, so many left-leaning citizens were outraged over the infringement of their constitutional rights to due process. After Barack Obama was elected, I didn’t hear a peep from the left about the National Defense Authorization Act, which is just as damaging to our rights as the Patriot Act, if not worse.

Then the folks on the right started preaching that the Affordable Care Act is …

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The First Amendment (freedom of expression and religion) and Second (freedom to keep and bear arms) were inspirationally written by our founders – visionary, nicely calculated and fittingly drafted to serve all citizens well and forever.

But with their collective wisdom and foresight, the founders did not anticipate the current vulgarization of our language or the corruption of our culture – the decline of civility, assassinations of opposing reputations, misrepresentations by political leaders and the mass killings of 20 schoolchildren.

Our founders would not claim “outrage” over the killing of 20 schoolchildren by a madman and simultaneously tolerate the intentional …

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Re: “To prevent gun violence, pick battles carefully” (editorial, 1-18).

Your editorial was one of the most balanced gun control pieces I have read to date.

I am one of the “hard-liners” you are trying to influence. For me, the Second Amendment serves two purposes: It gives me the right to protect my family and the ability to fight against a tyrannical government.

The same day’s paper laments having a firearm in the home makes you more vulnerable to firearm violence. Well, of course it does. I don’t own a zebra, but if I bought one my chances of …

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The Second Amendment says nothing about guns for hunting. It was written because the British tried to confiscate all guns owned by settlers in the West. These same guns were used by settlers to fight for the right to self-governance; they formed militias. If politicians are nervous about citizens owning guns, then the Second Amendment is doing its job.

I am not a member of the National Rifle Association, but I am gun owner. I don’t own an AR type of weapon, but I think I should have the right to. I should also have the right to carry a …

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Every time there is a mass shooting, there are numerous calls for stricter gun control. Many of these call for banning the type of weapon used in the shooting (this time it’s the Bushmaster).

Often it is said that one doesn’t need an automatic assault rifle for self-protection or hunting, which is true. What these people fail to recognize is that the Second Amendment was not written to preserve the ability to hunt. It was written to preserve the ability to resist an oppressive government (at the time England). They were preserving the right to have military weapons, thus the …

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