I encourage others to use my letter as boilerplate to write their own rebuttals. We are indeed engaged in an argument with those who "buy ink by the barrelfull"...
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October 11, 2002
Letters Editor, [your_local_fishwrap_name_here]
Re: "Sniper puts heat on gun lobby"
Predictably, the series of shootings in the Washington, D.C. area have brought the anti-gun forces back out of hiding. The editorial by Mr. Clarence Page in your 10/11/02 edition, "Sniper puts heat on gun lobby", sadly attempts to capitalize on the cowardly and inhuman acts of one depraved individual.
Mr. Page's absurd hyperbole in referring to a rifle as a "weapon of mass destruction" make it apparent he has received his information from the usual sources at the gun-ban lobby. The "next logical step" of "ballistic fingerprinting" is standard fare from those who repeatedly claim that "just one more law" will somehow make a difference. 20,000-plus laws later, we're still waiting. All that is being advocated here are violations of individual freedoms based on false promises of safety.
"Ballistic fingerprinting" is useless for a few reasons. First, altering the mechanical characteristics of any firearm is indeed a simple matter, and you can be sure that criminals are indeed smart enough to know this. Second, fragments are all that have been recovered of the bullets found, and no worthwhile "fingerprints" can be gathered from mere pieces. Third, in regards to the spent casing found at one scene, this could easily have been picked up at any local shooting range and used to throw law enforcement completely off the trail.
Note also that these shootings have occurred in an area that is subject to some of the most severe firearms restrictions in the country. If simply passing laws were all that is required to ward off criminals, the Washington, D.C. area would be one of the most crime-free places in our nation. Instead, the exact opposite is true. All that has accomplished is to give the shooter a large selection of defenseless victims. The "sniper" knows this. And so does Mr. Page.
[your_name_here]
