Charles Devoe Jr.'s Jan. 6 commentary, "Arms are a defense against tyranny," makes some very interesting points regarding "the right to bear arms."
As we had no military at the time, he recognized the need of the Minutemen to hold off the British at Lexington. He also states, "At the writing of the Constitution armaments were rifles (muskets), single shot pistol, hatchets, bayonets and cannons," not automatic weapons.
When this amendment was written, people owned slaves. When Lincoln understood that we were the only civilized nation that allowed this, he knew he needed to take action and got the 13th Amendment passed.
I think it's time Americans recognize that civilized nations, especially ones with standing armies, do not need nor were we ever intended to have semiautomatic weapons designed not to hunt or protect, but to kill. Of course, the people who use them to kill are insane, and we will learn more about the ways to treat them. But it's time to amend the Second Amendment to recognize that the founders of our country did not intend that its citizenry be armed with semiautomatic weapons, but rather with muskets to protect themselves in the lawless countryside in which they lived.
JOE CICCARELLI
Galway