THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 23, 1995 TAG: 9503230007
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
The headline says it all - ``Are our politicians afraid of criminals or the IRA?'' (Perspectives, March 17). It should have read ``. . . NRA?''
Admittedly, I am not surprised by the faulty headline because the column that went with it was filled as well with faulty statements of facts and logic. Molly Ivins would lead one to believe that firearms do not protect people from violent crimes.
In a regular column of the National Rifle Association's magazine, American Rifleman, titled ``The Armed Citizen,'' there were 138 instances of citizens successfully defending themselves against violent crimes in just the past year.
Ms. Ivins states: ``(C)onvenience stores, which have a vast reservoir of experience with armed robbery, do not permit their employees to keep guns on the premises.'' Maybe convenience stores should re-evaluate their policy. Of the 138 incidents involving armed citizens, 38 were at businesses that protected themselves; and of those, four were convenience stores.
The NRA is not a single-person lobbying group but an organization made up of millions of Americans who refuse to give up their constitutional rights.
Even President Clinton recognizes the numerical and political strength of the NRA membership. During an interview with editors of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, President Clinton stated: ``The NRA is the reason the Republicans control the House.'' Since a lobbying organization cannot vote, he quite obviously was talking about the NRA's voting membership.
Maybe politicians have good reason to be afraid of the NRA.
A. C. DONAHUE
Norfolk, March 18, 1995
Editor's note: The headline indeed should have read ``Are the politicians afraid of criminals or the NRA?'' by CNB