To The Editor of THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE:-
Shame on you Alan Chartock, for opening a recent column with "guns are an American curse." Maybe you should consider that the right you have to spew such drivel was won when our forefathers who used the pen to declare freedom were backed by men who used guns to defend that freedom.

And shame on you Alan Chartock for using the gun issue for political gain. There is no one in any party who would oppose a law if it would have stopped any one of those firearm-related tragedies you mentioned. But who of clear mind, after having reviewed the facts of each tragedy, believes another law would have stopped any of
these. Alas, Alan they would have not.

And shame on you Alan Chartock for joining the media bashing of the NRA. The dollars you speak of that the NRA uses to defend our freedom come freely from law-abiding, educated, and freedom- loving Americans, the very Americans who feel unafraid to stand up to freedom when the pen fails. I wonder how you feel about the money that came illegally form the Chinese to the Democratic White House. I don't hear you criticizing that. Gee, let's see, if I had to choose between the NRA, 3 million Americans strong, who are protecting our freedom, or the red Chinese who support our current administration, and represent a threat to our freedom, tough choice isn't it Alan?

If the media would report the whole story instead of simply trying to make headlines, America might discover that the NRA's gun safety programs which were started over 40 years ago have done more than any recently passed laws, and far more than this administration to promote safe and responsible gun ownership.

Shame on you Alan Chartock for glamorizing Andrew Cuomo's brow-beating of Smith & Wesson. Cuomo's actions represent what is most wrong with the legal system in this country, and what is wrong with the government of this country.

When Andrew Cuomo and his band of lawyers at the head of HUD can bring a company that makes a legal product to its knees by threatening it with endless litigation, Americans should worry. 

When the Justice Department fails to prosecute criminals and lets them remain free to commit crimes again, and then uses the repeat crime as an excuse to pass laws which take freedoms away from law abiding citizens, Americans should worry.

When the head of a public radio station uses his position to misrepresent the truth, Americans should worry.

When a professor at an institution of higher learning displays either a complete misunderstanding of the facts or callously disregards them for political gain, Americans should worry.

But while Americans still hold the right to choose their leaders, they should exercise that right. Clearly we can do better than the ethically bankrupt, politically driven and misguided administration we currently have in the White House.

Guns are not the curse of America. We are cursed however, with a president and
administration we cannot respect, and one who we cannot trust to tell the truth.

PAUL D. PHELPS
New Ashford, April 6, 2000
©2000 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and New England Newspapers, Inc.  Reproduced here without permission.