Dear Editor,

After reading Mr. Maloney’s opinion of April 27 entitled, “Time to disarm those ’hate group,” I cannot help to think that Mr. Maloney’s is like the man who does not want worms in his apples growing on his apple trees. His solution, he goes to the shed, gets his saw, and cuts down the tree. No more worms.

Mr. Maloney starts his opinion by making mention of “all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” then sets about trying to trample one of the first basic ten into the ground.

Yes, Mr. Maloney, semi-automatic weapons are designed to kill, but according to 1998 Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics, 98.6 percent of them are never used in the commission of a crime. They are what they are intended to be, the silent last check and balance against the kind of tyranny our Founding Fathers feared the most.

May I remind you, sir, that all of these school killings have happened after the passage of the Brady Bill designed to further insure our safety against gun violence. Further restricting guns from law-abiding citizens will do nothing to stop the killing by the morally bankrupt of our society.

May I also remind you, sir, that these two young criminals in Colorado had also constructed some 80 explosive devices, most of them pipe bombs. What is next, restricting the sale of pipe and nails to anyone under the age of 21?

It is not so much that technology has gotten too far ahead of morality as you stated. It is that morality is no longer taught. Do not get me wrong, I am not talking about preaching about God in schools. I am talking about parents and society preaching the basics of right and wrong, good conduct , consequences and mutual toleration to our young through their nonage.

Basically, the problem is society has rotted right to the very top (i.e. Bill Clinton) and is accepted as such. How long can we continue to treat children like adults and expect them to still act like children? It is a formula for disaster that is now coming home to roost.