Hey Michael! It probably is off the point (for you) but in my small town, we had our first murder, ever! It was done with a... knife!

Hmmmm. do you suppose we should register edged devices? Baseball bats? Ballpeen hammers? Tire Irons? Hands?

"Fingerprinting" as has been suggested (or any other kind of method of keeping track of firearms) works ONLY if all firearms, of any kind are so tracked. ALL. The best way to keep firearms from being used in crimes is to confiscate ALL firearms NOW! All!

The half/assed suggestions that have been made with an eye to keeping guns from being used in crime are easily made a joke of because they can't work in the way they are touted to work. Do you have any idea of how lucrative blackmarket sales of guns is NOW? do you really want to create another travesty such as Prohibition, honored more in the breach? To BOLSTER the power of the criminal by giving him yet another money making scam?

People get killed with guns (and many other things) A great many gun related deaths are due to ignorance, stupidity, physical and psychological impairment due to drugs or alcolhol. Many are the handy device grabbed at the height of rage!

I know that guns scare you and I don't know why but I accept that you ARE scared. But don't assume, because YOU are scared, that we all have to share that fear. I don't fear guns. I live in a community where there are a great many more guns available than where you live (I would guess, anyway). Perhaps you live where there are many violent acts, guns used, driveby shootings, hold-ups, mom killing dad killing mom killing sonny killing sis killing (goes on ya know) It is rare here where I live. Maybe we have less anxiety, less pressures, more consideration of others' rights! Maybe my microcosm is made up of reasonable, kind and respectful people. People who believe in good and do good when ever they can.

Maybe what is REALLY needed is for the American people to grow up, take responsibility and pass the noble values of our founding fathers on to their offspring. Guns have a purpose. They are "tools" if you will and the RESPONSIBLE use of any tool should be stressed along with the purpose of it's use.

The NRA? Well they seem a bit strident to me at times, but I also understand that THEY are afraid, too. They have tried very hard to present calm, cogent, arguments. The issue, though, has been taken out of the arena of calm, rational debate and escalated by hyperbole into an emotinal free-for-all. Something that you and your supporters are as guilty of as is the NRA.

CB