The tortured logic regarding the right to bear arms in Albert A. Relation Jr.'s letter ("Fund agencies to avert tragedies," Dec. 20) got me to actually read the Second Amendment. It states: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
There is nothing about protecting us from foreign and domestic threats or any paranoia about our current or future government coming to take away our guns. If the government decides to take away all of our weapons, it will. But that is as likely to happen as the Mayan calendar prediction of the world's end.
As a militar veteran, I am familiar with the lethality of the weapon used to slaughter the innocent children in Newtown, Conn. These are weapons designed around the M-16 assault rifle in use as a tactical weapon by our military and law enforcement. They do not belong in the hands of citizens.
Mr. Relation is wrong when he states the blame does not rest on the instruments of death, just the mentally unstable person behind the rampage. Bullets, guns and high-capacity magazines do kill people, just like the car driven by an irresponsible or incapacitated person. The stale excuses and stances of the National Rifle Association need to be exposed for what they are: Lobbying efforts to protect gun and ammunition manufacturers. I do agree with Mr. Relation that our political leaders need to stand up to the NRA and support the 57 percent of Americans who support stricter gun control.
Tragedies with weapons will continue but we should not enable mass murder by invoking a constitutional amendment that could be looked upon as antiquated by any reasonable person. The weapon technology of the 18th century has been made obsolete by that of today, much as the amendment itself.
RANDY PUTNAM
Burnt Hills