Wrong weapon, wrong prey

On Dec. 14, a disturbed young man was able to seek out and kill 20 children and six adults. He accomplished this task with a legally obtained (by his mother) high-magazine-capacity rifle.

No hunter that I know uses this type of weapon to hunt game. Yet recent news broadcasts reveal that these weapons are flying off the shelves. Why?

We have a military and a police force that are armed with these weapons for our protection. Why do we continue to purchase these weapons (with high-capacity magazines) so that the mentally ill and troubled can eventually find them and use them?

I believe in the Second Amendment right to bear arms but we as a nation are swimming in a sea of high-capacity weapons that are not designed for hunting but for military use and killing.

If this troubled young man had been armed with a weapon of less capacity, there is a chance that many of those killed would have survived this attack and been with us to enjoy the warmth of the season with family and friends rather than a continuing footnote to our continuing national tragedy.

BILL JOHNSON

Modesto