Sen. Dole on Guns

As a lifelong registered Republican I find it increasingly difficult to identify with the party of my choice. Unfortunately, Sen. Bob Dole’s (R-Kan.) recent comments (Dec. 11) on gun control reinforce the image of the Republican Party as hopelessly lacking in understanding the real problems that this nation faces and how to go about solving them.

To oppose gun registration and licensing of gun owners is patently absurd. We require automobiles to be registered and we require drivers to demonstrate minimal understanding and skill in the operation of vehicles. These are not infringements on personal or constitutional rights, but merely prudent measures to safeguard the individual and the public. Certainly, we should require no less of guns and gun owners.

Dole should join the 20th Century and support the President in his effort to deal with this problem, and, incidentally, give me a reason to vote Republican again.

PAUL W. ROSENBERGER

Manhattan Beach

Dole lambasted Clinton’s proposals to curb gun control. It was Dole who had the cart in front of the horse, when he stated we should be building more prisons instead.

ALLEN LIDYOFF

Montebello

You say it’s hard to imagine how peace of mind comes from owning a gun (editorial, Dec. 10). Did our ancestral cave dwellers have peace of mind with club in hand? Random violence is both frightening and nothing new. What’s new is forbidding self-defense. Those people who rode that New York train were sitting ducks. New York prevents its Crocodile Dundees from carrying long knives or guns.

RUTH CRAWFORD

Laguna Hills