Dangerous words about guns

Re “Obama in gun sights, Huckabee quips,” May 17

I am absolutely appalled that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee would suggest, even in jest, that Sen. Barack Obama is a target for an assassin -- particularly in front of the most vociferous gun-toting audience in the country.

What was he thinking? For those of us who remember November 1963 and the spring of 1968, when inspirational leaders in America were murdered, the prospect of repeating those dark days haunts us.

Obama, because of his race and his challenge to the status quo, is surely vulnerable. But it is irresponsible for a prominent politician to mention this in any way other than a loud condemnation. An after-the-fact apology and explanation are not nearly enough.

Roger Bourke

Alta, Utah

Re “The NRA’s new poster boy?” May 17

Ted Nugent doesn’t “tremble” or “back off”? He appears about my age, so why wasn’t he in Vietnam carrying his gun when I was there? Then we would have seen whether he backs down. If Nugent is another example of National Rifle Assn. leadership, the group will again be known as a bunch of pseudo-machos without the life experience to back it up.

Victor Chavez

Glendora