It was indicated that approximately 30,000 deaths occurred using firearms. It does not mention that only one-third of those were homicides and that more than half were suicides. Any death is a tragedy; we do not need inflated statistics to acknowledge that.

The article also mentioned the NRA campaign to prevent the Centers for Disease Control from adding up the death toll. The NRA just does not believe that it is a disease and should not be classified as such, just like the 40,000-plus auto deaths are not categorized as a disease.

And as to the "advanced nation" concept, Washington, D.C., has some of the strictest gun-control laws, and one of the highest homicide death rates. Gun-control laws and safety do not necessarily go hand in hand. But then a majority of Americans knows that, which is why we still have a viable and relevant Second Amendment protecting our right to bear arms.

William E. Jones

Sandy