Weapons of War

I was struck by the letter from Richard Tillinger regarding his love of machine guns (“Misfire?” September-October 2008). As a former member of the National Rifle Association, I understand the fascination with guns, but mine was toward hunting arms, specifically rifles and shotguns, as were most people I know. Machine guns are specifically de­signed for killing people, as weapons of war. They have no place in the “toys for boys” category, especially for those of us who profess the Christian faith. So no alcohol is allowed? Big deal. While that is important, we must always be asking ourselves “What is distracting us from becoming peacemakers?” Playing with weapons of war seems to be an obvious way to escape the challenges of today’s troubled world. What would Jesus do?

Tom Hubers, Rockville, Maryland