Dear Editor:

The thought and vision of 20 first and second graders shot by a deranged young man with easy access to weapons does not quickly fade.

I also recall my shock when I monitored social media and found the dominant attitude of gun guys to be that we can't allow Sandy Hook to interfere in any way with our gun rights. Then there was Wayne LaPierre, the million plus a year president of the National Rifle Association (NRA). His solution to keep children safe was to have more guns in school, which would of course produce more gun sales and more support for higher salaries at the NRA from gun manufacturers.

The NRA is now pushing legislation that would allow Maine residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

If this passes, will our schools will ever again be even remotely safe.

Meanwhile, the NRA is getting ready for its national convention. How will LaPierre and NRA staff and board be protected? Will there be good guys with guns around to stop bad guys with guns?

The NRA has a different approach to protecting its own than its approach to protecting school kids.

There will be no working guns at the convention. They are banned. They have also been banned for years at the NRA national headquarters.

It seems the big, freedom loving tough guys of the NRA don 't want to put their lives at risk, though they have no problem doing so with the lives of first graders.

What would my coal miner Pop have said if he were alive? Most of it would not be printable in a family paper, but I do know the words gutless and hypocrites would be featured prominently.

Fred Rotondaro

Southport