When I read Kenneth Boyd’s letter regarding his idea to reduce gun violence [“Bold step,” Jan. 18], I was hoping to read something substantive that would go beyond the rhetoric that is liberal-media driven and way off the mark.

Instead, Mr. Boyd’s “bold step” is to address what he believes is the “underlying cause — the Second Amendment to the Constitution.” I have a suggestion: If you are not happy with the founding documents of this great nation, then move to a country that will make you happy and feel safer. The Second Amendment was a short one, simply put: “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.” Law-abiding citizens who go through extensive background checks, properly license their weapons and learn responsible gun usage are not the problem. The types of guns they use are not the problem. What the liberal media is failing to report in enough detail is that these mass killings with “semiautomatic weapons” are often done by individuals with a history of either some sort of mental illness or who have spent many years on psychotropic drugs. Often, this is a mental health issue, not a gun issues — and people who are inclined to this sort of violence will do so regardless of the weapon of choice, be it a gun or a knife or a section of 2-by-4.

We’ve heard nothing from the liberal media regarding the woman in Georgia who protected her 9-year-old twins from a home intruder on Jan. 4, shooting him five times with the gun that she had learned to responsibly use just the day before.

The intruder did not have a gun, just a crowbar. Does she not have the right to protect herself and her children? Without her properly registered and totally legal firearm, the results of that home invasion would have been much different. Kudos to her for keeping her wits about her, and that her aim was true.

Tragedies such as Sandy Hook or Columbine are indeed horrific in nature and a stain on our collective conscience, but rescinding the Second Amendment will do nothing to resolve the problem. Anyone hell-bent on mass murder will get it done one way or another; Jim Jones took out 919 people in 1978, 914 of them with poisoned Kool-Aid. Forced suicide is the same as murder. Bad people will do bad things regardless of their methodology. And one last thing, Mr. Boyd. If the government were ever successful in removing all the guns, then only the government will have the guns. Once that happens, you can probably kiss the First Amendment goodbye. Be careful what you wish for.

Gary Maynard, La Plata