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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 2, 2008

Court's Interpretation

Regarding "Individual Gun Rights Affirmed" (front page, June 27):

Once again the U.S. Supreme Court has expressed their opinion instead of interpreting the Constitution. The American people have been brainwashed that the conservative justices interpret the Constitution and liberal justices do not. The truth is neither does. They interpret the Constitution with their own opinions or the opinions of special interests.

To interpret the Second Amendment, we do not need a lawyer but a historian and an English teacher good in grammar.

If the framers of the Constitution wanted all people to bear arms, the Second Amendment would have only stated "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." This is not what the Second Amendment states. It states that to have a well-regulated militia necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

TONY MENENDEZ

Tampa

Define 'Infringed'

The Supreme Court has confirmed that which was always understood during the first one and a half centuries of this country's existence: that the right to bear arms is an individual right of the citizens of the United States.

This leaves only one more thing to be done - to define the word "infringed." That should be an interesting exercise in parsing, equal to determining the meaning of "is."

JOHN COOLEY

Zephyrhills

Guns Are Unnecessary

First, how many people have taken a course in using firearms? How many people have children in their home and are careful to lock up the weapon? How long will it take to unlock, reload and aim at the intruder? How many are mentally ready to take a life? How many Christians are ready to break one of God's Ten Commandments, "Thou shalt not kill"?

My solution is to either buy a stun gun or use the spray that makes vision blurred and is quite painful.

Then consider all the processed foods and beverages people are getting and realize why there are so many hyperactive adults and children and road-rage seen daily.

All we need is to put weapons in these people's hands and wind up back in the "wild, wild West."

ANITA KNIGHT

St. Petersburg

Poor Students Of History

The Supreme Court vote on the gun rights issue shows that some of the justices must not have read their history books.

The only purpose of the Second Amendment was to be prepared against another British attack, a threat that no longer exists. Today, we must guard against attacks from our own well-armed fellow citizens.

I guess after the gun nuts have shot all the innocents, they can then exercise their rights by shooting each other.

JACK PEEL

Tampa

Decision Restored Rights

Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court finally clarified and set a precedent for the land restoring, what many liberal, far left-leaning politicians and lawmakers have been trying to take away from the American people for some time - the right to possess and use guns for hunting and self-defense.

The U.S. Constitution gave U.S. citizens this right years ago, but over the past 20 or 30 years many of our leaders, in an effort to pacify anti-gun lobbyists, have attempted to slowly remove this privilege.

Since I was a young boy growing up in Vermont, where everyone hunted and fished, I have belonged to the National Rifle Association. All those years of paying dues and, in later years, the extra financial donations we have made to the NRA have finally achieved this stunning victory.

Seldom have I been successful in winning something I believed in so very strongly over the 73 years I have been on this earth.

CARDIN A. HESSELTON

Seminole

Law Was Misrepresented

Regarding "Constitutional Right To Pistols Takes Heat Off Sensible Gun Rules" (Our Opinion, June 27):

In an editorial reminiscent of a Brady campaign press release, you give strong evidence of why gun owners must remain vigilant in spite of that favorable decision by the Supreme Court.

The idea that all sorts of unreasonable restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms should now be accepted without complaint simply because total prohibition is off the table is laughable. For one thing, your deliberate mischaracterization of the law that allows permit holders to keep a gun locked in their vehicle while parked at work as "arming every workplace," not to mention the ridiculous implication that the individual right to self-preservation should be limited to one's home, is proof that anti-gun activists will continue resorting to dishonesty and misinformation in their attempts to make it all but impossible for regular citizens to defend themselves with firearms if the need arises.

LEO DAHER

Tampa

Cartoon Was Juvenile

The June 29 Arial cartoon of Justice Scalia as a mobster because he wrote an opinion upholding the rights of gun owners is both juvenile and disgusting.

Why don't you attack the segment of our society who abuses guns instead of those of us who have to defend ourselves against the abusers? The answer is, of course, that you wouldn't dare.

JAMES BITTMAN

Sun City Center

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