44th Assembly District

Re Valley Perspective Interviews, “44th Assembly District,” Oct 18.

While I am very glad that The Times asked two candidates how they would plan for the state’s population explosion to 50 million in the next 25 years, I was most disheartened by the simplistic responses from both. It’s obvious from their answers--build, expand, fund--that they haven’t given any real thought to the complex problems of a state with finite resources overrun with people, or even better, how to limit or control this kind of explosive growth. In my book, any candidate for state office that just rolls over, plays dead and accepts unlimited growth as inevitable is not qualified to lead California into a livable future.

JAN BROWN, Van Nuys

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Ken LaCorte says he “favors outlawing all forms of automatic weapons” (“Two Candidates Touched by Gun Tragedy,” Oct. 1). This is not a difficult position to hold, even for a member of the National Rifle Assn., since automatic weapons are already outlawed. It has been essentially illegal for private citizens to own fully automatic weapons (with a few rare exceptions) since the days of Prohibition.

If LaCorte is confused, and is really advocating the banning of all semiautomatic firearms, then perhaps he should consider switching parties. Almost all weapons in common use today, with the exception of bolt-action hunting rifles, are semiautomatic. Such weapons are not new; the revolvers used by Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid were semiautomatic. Semiautomatic simply means that each pull of the trigger causes one round to be fired. Banning semiautomatic weapons would be tantamount to a complete ban on firearms ownership.

Candidates should use more precision when they advocate “outlawing” tools, like firearms--especially those protected by the Bill of Rights. Promoting a ban on weapons already outlawed is not helpful. And creating more confusion between automatic and semiautomatic weapons is certainly not wise. This is especially true of candidates who seek the vote of responsible gun owners.

JAMES F. GLASS, Chatsworth