Contrary to what the NRA and its fanatical sycophants proclaim, the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not provide carte blanche rights to would-be gun owners ("Guns and obfuscations," May 24).
The amendment is short and to the point: "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The focus is on the valid role of state militias such as the Maryland National Guard to be prepared to defend the state from a tyrannical federal or outside power.
Such militias are legal and may not be banned. But even so, the very crystal clear adjective, "well-regulated," is unmistakably front and center. Well-regulated. As in government gun control. It's not just good old common sense, it's Constitutionally required. End of story, National Rifle Association. Pack up your loose marbles and start playing by the rules!
Louis Brendan Curran, Baltimore
The writer is a Baltimore City assistant public defender.
