Donald Trump and Wayne LaPierre (of the National Rifle Association), neither of whom has served in the military, much less participated in a firefight, continually give us their emphatic assurance that a fully-armed public is the solution to mass killings. They clearly have no idea of the chaos that ensues once the exchange of lethal weaponry begins; fear and adrenaline take over and everything that moves becomes a target.

It is time to move beyond the Second Amendment babblings of Trump, LaPierre and their ilk and formulate a rational path forward.

First, we must recognize that the death toll in America due to firearms is unacceptable and stands in stark contrast to firearm death rates in other advanced civilizations that exercise reasonable gun control policies.

Second, while handguns kill tens of thousands more people per year than do assault weapons, mass killings require the latter, and weapons designed for the military with 20- to 30-round magazines have no place in the hands of the general populace of a civilized society.

Acquisition and sale of such weapons was disallowed by the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 (though it was weakened by grandfathering weapons then owned) but was not reauthorized under the Bush administration in 2004. It is time to revisit a more restrictive ban and authorize a federal buy-back program to eliminate these weapons from the streets, and thereafter, impose fines and/or imprisonment for their sale or possession. This, of course, will require House and Senate Republicans to cease shaking in their boots over threats of NRA retaliation.

Michael S. Berry

Durango