Mary Ann Gardner
Philadelphia
State Rep. Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery) has put forward a concise, well-thought out, and constitutionally correct interpretation of the right to keep and bear arms ("Guns can be regulated, Second Amendment or not," Nov. 28).
Under the one-gun-per-month bill, gun enthusiasts can still purchase 12 guns per year. That means 12 in 2008, 12 more in 2009 and so on. Unless you are raising an army, why does one person need more than that?
It's time for the NRA to stop using the Second Amendment to further its cause. It's also time for the House Judiciary Committee to grow a spine. Kudos to Mr. Leach.
William A. Roper Jr.
Philadelphia
State Rep. Daylin Leach has the matter completely wrong.
The Second Amendment is not about hunting, self-defense or defending one's home. To the contrary, the Second Amendment represents our constitutional right to overthrow an oppressive and undemocratic government.
To that end, restrictions on assault weapons or upon the number of guns one is allowed to assemble overall or on a monthly basis go rather critically to the heart of and infringe upon the intention and spirit of our Second Amendment protections.
And even if Leach was right about gun-control measures passing federal constitutional scrutiny, he fails to acknowledge that Pennsylvania has a clear and cogent protection written into its constitution:
"The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be questioned."