Clearly, we have arrived at a point in our country where we can no longer avoid making real decisions about guns, and we must finally do so with maturity and realism. The national debate must no longer be viewed by anyone as political or intellectual, but rather about responsibility and morality.

Like most, we fully respect the rights of hunters who responsibly own proper hunting weapons. Further, with great reserve, we respect the fact that our society allows gun ownership for personal protection, though we personally abhor that. However, there are those who try to rationalize the "right" to own weapons that clearly are intended to be used by military personal for the specific purpose of killing human beings as quickly and efficiently as possible. By claiming this "right" is of greater importance than any human life, especially children, they are really proving only one point, which we believe is this: that they themselves are not morally responsible enough to own any gun at all.

Charlie Baker and Chan Maree

Bellingham