I hope BND readers resisted the impulse to avoid news coverage of the tragedy in Connecticut. Every citizen should comprehend the anguish and hopelessness of this national tragedy. Turning away just makes us more callous to the next atrocity.

Once again dozens of children slaughtered by a madman armed with semi-automatic weapons. After every abomination, NRA apologists in these pages spring into action, howling that guns aren't the problem. Zealots bloviate incessantly about "liberty" and "freedom" while the rest of the civilized world views America as backward and dangerous.

The simple truth is these crimes keep happening because guns are available to practically any madman who wants them; they kill more efficiently than ever, and nobody does anything to stop it. Is that so hard to understand? Maybe logic's challenging to those who think only one constitutional amendment matters.

How much terror must America endure, and how many other freedoms must people forego just to satisfy gun worshippers? Does the NRA version of freedom mean we now must live in armed compounds? Maybe gun enthusiasts can explain their vision of liberty to the families and friends of those 20 innocent children and six adults massacred in Newtown.

If this recurring carnage is the price of having a Second Amendment then it's time to change it. It's not 1789 anymore, it's 2012. Those people who think they're safer because they can buy militaristic weapons or conceal-carry in schools or believe we should be arming 6-year olds have completely abandoned reason and lost all credibility.

Kevin J, Gagen

Belleville