Editor,

Regarding gun control:

As a nation we should be able to decide on rational laws regulating guns, ammunition and accessories. A vast majority of Americans agree the Second Amendment protects civilian ownership of guns for legal uses: hunting, self-defense and sport shooting. If we determine what types of guns and ammunition are best suited for each of these legal uses, we can outlaw civilian possession of guns that are not appropriate for these legal uses. If people want to handle and shoot weapons designed for mass killing, they can join the military, or the “well regulated militia” as the Second Amendment puts it.

Each legal owner should be required to have a license and registration for every gun owned. There should be a database which keeps track of every gun a person owns and tracks sales and change of ownership, the same as we do for automobiles. No one should be able to secretly amass a large arsenal without authorities being aware.

There should be no private sales loopholes for background checks and licensing. Just as you can’t get out of standard car registration procedures if you buy a car from a private party.

It is past time to make weapons capable of mass killing illegal for civilians. It is precisely because we cannot legislate against evil that must legislate against weaponry that exponentially increases the effect and reach of evil. Other weapons of mass destruction are very tightly regulated. We are not experiencing frequent mass killings from sarin gas or dirty bombs. It is time to make it much harder for civilians to access weapons of mass killing.

BARBARA BANFIELD

Langley