An inaccurate, muzzle loaded, long rifle that took several minutes to reload between shots was the latest weapon technology in the late 1780s, when the U.S. Constitution and its second amendment were framed. The founding fathers could not foresee the deadly development of weaponry that future years brought.

They did, however, see the need for a flexible document that could be altered, amended, reinvented to adapt to changing times. That is the genius of the Constitution and its framers.

AR15/M16/AK47 type weaponry are miles apart and centuries removed from Revolutionary War weaponry. The damage potential of modern weaponry is immense.

Make no mistake about it. The AR15 and its iterations, though not machine guns in the strictest sense, can easily be altered to function that way. It was developed to be a weapon of war; its firepower was designed to do major damage to the human body; and it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise.

Of course weapons under lock and key do not cause violence, only a bent human mind and hand can do that. But modern weaponry certainly aids in this awful endeavor and compounds the horrific results.

Colt Firearms’ recent decision not to make the AR15 style weapon available to the general public is a recognition of this fact.

I'd like to endorse the dispassionate and rational opinion expressed by Patrick Barry in his letter of Sept. 19. I say to Mr. Barry, right on! Write on!

Jim Manchester
Bristol