Glass on Gun Licensing

In response to a June 28 story that gun-licensing legislation (AB 273) had passed in a state Senate committee, James Glass writes that it “is of course an unconstitutional infringement on the right to keep and bear arms” (letter, July 2). If that is so, why is he concerned about its passage?

Surely, the National Rifle Assn. will go into court and have it declared unconstitutional. Or will it? In the past the NRA has studiously avoided challenging any gun legislation as a violation of the 2nd Amendment. That is why there is a only a scintilla of case law on the subject, and from that scintilla the courts have held that the 2nd Amendment does not give individuals the right to keep and bear arms unless they are members of a state militia.

It is time for the NRA and its followers to put up or shut up. Let AB 273 be passed and signed into law and let’s stop talking about whether or not it is unconstitutional. Take it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and find out if it is unconstitutional. My bet is that the NRA does not want to face the music because the best guess is that the legislation would be upheld by a 7-2 vote of the court.

JACK ALLEN

Pacific Palisades

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In his letter, Glass inadvertently made the point invalidating his anachronistic argument against licensing handguns: It takes but a second of rage or insanity for a “law-abiding citizen” (aren’t we all getting tired of hearing platitudinal phrases?) to break the law. Hence the attempt of the “leftists who control California’s government” (nothing could be further from reality) to issue licenses for new handgun purchases.

WERNER WASSILEFF

San Diego