Dear Editor:As I read over the letter "Outdated Amendments," I was surprised by how misleading the letter was, and also, the name calling, wow! Let's be a little more civilized here. Now let's point out a couple numbers that were greatly exaggerated. Muskets (muzzle loaders) take around 30 seconds to reload, not 15 minutes. While 300 million guns may have been produced in America, that's also counting guns from as far back as our Revolutionary War. Last, if the NRA president took home $1 million from the "suckers," the IRS would be knocking on his front door. Most of the "facts" in the letter were misleading and hold no merit. Japan and England are both countries with extremely high police and military rates within the public, and also not as many liberties that we Americans have. Actually, in Japan, if the government wanted to come into your home, they can and will. Chicago, New York and the D.C. area have some of the highest murder rates in the U.S. What else do they have in common? Strict gun laws. How can these people defend themselves when we can't even give them a chance? Probably the most overused phrase about guns I have heard, but it is still true, is that guns do not kill people, people do. With or without guns, bad guys will still find a way. Matthew Santisteven Downey

Dear Editor: In response to Colin Clarke and his comments about the 2nd Amendment, the NRA "zealots" and those who enjoy hunting, I think he is not looking at the big picture. Has he looked recently at Planned Parenthood? Since the legalization of abortion (by an erroneous twisting of our Constitution) more than 45 million babies have been slaughtered by the 21st Century sophisticated killing machines. Is that OK? Those babies were much more defenseless than the animals that are hunted. The animals at least have a chance to run away...a baby that is captive in its mother's womb can go nowhere to escape the pain and death. Moreover, millions of taxpayers who believe that abortion is immoral and a crime are forced to have their tax dollars pay for the hefty salaries of the Planned Parenthood officers and workers. Talk about being immoral. I think the poor babies that have been killed are the real "poor suckers" in this case. Maggie Allen Downey

********** Published: August 16, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 18