Firearms taking toll on nation

The killing of 20 schoolchildren, mostly 6-year-olds, along with the principal and several teachers in Connecticut, is more than a tragedy. It is a wake-up call. Try to imagine what their parents must be going through. Every country has its nut cases who do things like this. The difference is our country is awash in guns. This is justified by the National Rifle Association as perfectly legal, as described in the Second Amendment. One wonders how many of our gun enthusiasts have bothered to read it. If they do they will discover that the Second Amendment accords the right to bear arms to "a well-regulated militia." The Connecticut murderer did not belong to any militia, regulated or otherwise.

This was not a rare event. An average of 27 people every day are killed by firearms in our country. North of us is a country that rarely experiences such events. The difference is the availability of guns. We're not just talking about hunting rifles. We also have all manner of military weapons, made for just one purpose: to kill people.

It is time to pause and have a serious conversation about what kind of country we want to be.

LLOYD KRAMER

Twain Harte