Horror Over Gun Deaths

J. Neil Schulman (“Joining Forces Against a Common Foe,” Column Right, June 8) appealed for a common front between gun advocates and gun opponents against armed criminals. A good idea! But aside from urging gun-safety training, he made no concrete suggestions on how both sides could cooperate. Rather, he made statements which are, at best, misleading. For example, his comments on Supreme Court decisions with regard to an individual’s rights to own firearms under the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. He failed to acknowledge that every decision the court has rendered did not deny the right to own firearms, but also did not deny the state the right to regulate the conditions under which firearms may be owned. The NRA’s arrogant insistence that every citizen has the unqualified right to own firearms has always been rejected by the court.

Schulman opposes “laws and . . . rulings that abridge the right of private citizens to buy and own firearms. . . .” Would he also give the unqualified right to own and drive a car? Would he not require a driver’s license? Why shouldn’t a would-be handgun owner be subject to a check by the police to ensure he is not a criminal or mentally unstable? That’s what the Brady Bill, which the NRA and people like Schulman denounce, is all about. Although the overwhelming majority of Americans favor the Brady Bill, the political power of the NRA has, so far, kept Congress from enacting it. I think that time is running out for the NRA and its misguided supporters.

It is true that the Brady Bill will not come near eliminating handgun violence. But it will help over a period of time.

LEO NEWMAN

Laguna Hills