To the editor:

Somehow, three important facts have never been mentioned in this discussion.

Assault weapon is a misnomer. AR-type rifles are only semiautomatic, not the full auto weapons used by the military. They are no more dangerous in speed of shooting, accuracy or power than the typical hunting rifle with its pretty wooden stock.

Guns in America do much more good than harm. The extensive studies of John Lott show that Americans use firearms to defend themselves every year more than 2 million times.

Most of the time, a gun is not discharged – just brandished.

But ‘Homeowner Brandishing Gun Scares Away an Intruder’ are words that don’t make headline – only murders make juicy headlines.

In the largest of all mass slayings, no gun at all was used: 9/11. Are we now to outlaw boxcutters?

– Don Ellenberger, Tryon