James R. Rik Roberts (Our Readers’ Views, June 9, “Sensible gun measures are needed”) proposes reasonable, common-sense measures that he believes would make an immediate positive difference. I agree with him wholeheartedly and applaud him for his position, particularly since he is an NRA member. But, sadly, this is a pipe dream. And (with sincere apologies to him in advance), Mr. Roberts, as an NRA member, is part of the problem.
You see, the NRA hasn’t represented the average, common-sense American gun owner in decades. While the average, run-of-the-mill NRA member supports reasonable gun control measures (for example, universal criminal background checks on everyone attempting to buy a firearm), the NRA vehemently opposes this and virtually all efforts at gun control, no matter how reasonable.
The NRA is adamantly opposed to denying the sale of firearms to someone on the federal Do Not Fly list. Think about that for a moment. The federal government has determined that someone is a sufficient risk that he or she is not allowed to board a passenger plane. And yet the NRA thinks they should be able to walk into a gun store and walk out with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, the weapon of choice of American mass murderers.
