THE NEW YORK TIMES
March 27, 2000
Page A 26

To the Editor:

Richard Ford’s argument (Op-Ed, March 21) ignores a key aspect of the
gun control issue: the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment was not
included to protect sport hunters like Mr. Ford and his chums.

Rather, the Second Amendment was specifically intended as a hedge
against tyrannical government. The authors of the Bill of Rights clearly
intended that all citizens had the right to bear arms, in order to
prevent the government from becoming abusive.

It’s easy enough to make fun of doomsday cults and criminal gangs that
appropriate arguments like this for their own ends, but that doesn’t
amount to a refutation of those arguments.

If Mr. Ford is certain that the government will never become tyrannical,
he is at liberty not to carry arms, but that is a choice he is entitled
to make for himself only.

AEON J. SKOBLE
Newburgh, N.Y., March 21, 2000

The writer is visiting assistant professor of philosophy at the United
States Military Academy at West Point.