The Aurora, Colo., massacre should precipitate an outcry from all of us. For too long, I have remained silent on what I believe is a shameful stance by the NRA lobby to promote unrestricted weapon ownership.

Semi-automatic weapons with high-capacity clips cannot be justified for any reason. Recently, Congresswoman Giffords was shot by a man who fired his weapon 30 times before reloading. Now a gunman has shot 71 people, killing at least 12. There is no excuse for this madness.

As a former Marine and a combat veteran, I defend the right of Americans to own a weapon. We must ban the sale and ownership of weapons with high-capacity clips.

Glenn Denkler

Bellingham