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Constitution allows arms

TO THE DAILY:

Jordan Stancil's column, titled "How Could Congress be so ... Dumb?" (3/27/96), demonstrates once again the abundance of poor reasoning and inflammatory statements that so richly characterizes your editorial page day-in and day-out.

First of all, Stancil's claim that "huge majorities of the public support the ban on assault weapons" as evidence that the ban should remain intact is a perfect example of the self-serving Daily reasoning that I love and know so well. Millions upon millions of Americans are anti-abortion, and yet none of the Daily writers favors a reversal of Roe v. Wade. Why not? Apparently, to be a writer for the Daily, you must be able to ignore significant sectors of the American population when they do not agree with you.

Second, Stancil states that "gun lovers like to bring out their legalistic arguments" in their favor, such as that the Constitution guarantees us the right to bear arms. Yes, Stancil, I suppose that argument would be legalistic if you paid any attention to that little document called the U.S. Constitution.

However, this stance is not surprising to anyone who has read the Daily and knows that, to the Daily staff, the Constitution is not the law of the land. Rather, it is a piece of paper to be manipulated to protect whatever liberal cause is on the agenda, regardless of its constitutionality.

Finally, Stancil decries a world where persons "outside the reach of a protective government have to fend for themselves" as fantasy. In fact, you are the one living in a fantasy. Crime today is more commonplace and more violent than ever before. The simple fact is that the government and law enforcement can't protect everyone all of the time. Why shouldn't law-abiding American citizens, women or men, be allowed to protect themselves with the best weapons available? Surely your version of the Constitution doesn't make it illegal to protect yourself, does it?

I know that many innocent people have died from assault weapons. Typically, though, they are caught in a drive-by shooting or are in the wrong place when a gang shootout occurs. The point is, people who use assault weapons for such a purpose do not generally obtain them through legal means anyway. Since this is the case, Americans who obey the laws of the land should be able to protect themselves with the weapon of their choice, including assault weapons.

BRIAN J. KUDARY

LSA SENIOR