As a light weapons infantryman paratrooper who qualified expert without exception, I know the attraction of firepower. When I woke up after surgery for a wound in a MASH unit bed, I felt insecure without my weapons. And yes, Wayne LaPierre, we do need to reconsider the current restrictions on firepower. America would be the safest country in the world if mere firepower were the answer.

No, the Second Amendment doesn’t grant every citizen including felons and the mentally ill the right to a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb. The Constitution isn’t about absolutes. It is better understood as a “delicate balance.” One of our Supreme Court Justices said, “Experience is the life blood of the Law.” Aren’t we capable of putting aside rhetoric and agreeing to soberly re-examine issues in the light of experience?

Yes, owning a gun is about American as owning a car. Many would say more so. And that should be weighed in the balance. But let’s listen to hard fact from all involved. Isn’t that the American way?

— John T. Maltas

Anchorage