Great LTTE On The NRA & Gun Control

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin made a number of interesting and reasonable suggestions in his Dec. 23 commentary : http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/sen-joe-manchin-between-obama-and-the-nra-another-path-to-stopping-mass-violence/2012/12/21/181d4e94-4adc-11e2-9a42-d1ce6d0ed278_story.html But his comment that, if you blame the National Rifle Association for the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., you are in effect blaming all of its 4 million members is without basis.

I, and just about everyone I know who favors some sort of reasonable control and gun-safety legislation, believe there are many NRA members who are willing to accept some restrictions on gun ownership. When speaking of the NRA, we are referring to its irresponsible, intransigent, irrational leadership.

No legislation would eliminate the possibility of mass killings or the equally appalling daily gun violence that takes place in every part of our country. But one action that would definitely help would be for the NRA membership to vote out the organization’s current leadership and bring in a group of reasonable people who are not closely associated with gun manufacturers and who reflect the clamor in this country for compromise on this issue.

Peter Theil, Washington

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/no-easy-answers-in-the-complex-gun-debate/2012/12/25/230b8dda-4de7-11e2-835b-02f92c0daa43_story.html