TO THE EDITORS:
Your article, "Akron mayor resents being target of NRA" (9/19), contains some bogus claims that warrant a response. We appreciate Mayor John McBeth publicly resigning from Mayors Against Illegal Guns. However, Mayor McBeth is ill-informed to believe that MAIG has "no objection whatsoever to a legal gun owner."

MAIG opposed the Thune Amendment, which would have allowed concealed carry permit holders a chance to defend themselves outside their home states. If MAIG is only going after "illegal guns," then why is it opposed to a self-defense measure for law-abiding people who have been through background checks and satisfied other law-enforcement prerequisites to get their right-to-carry permits? There is nothing "illegal" about the firearms these people own. MAIG would also like to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, a move that the Fraternal Order of Police opposes because it would allow sensitive firearms trace information to be made public - even to criminals.

The Intelligencer Journal /Lancaster New Era negligently published a story that questions the NRA's solution to the problem of "illegal guns" without calling and asking us.

Our position is clear: To reduce crime, we must enforce the more than 20,000 gun laws already on the books and mandate the harshest possible punishments for criminals who misuse guns.
Alexa Fritts
Media Liaison

National Rifle Association

Institute for

Legislative Action

Fairfax, Va.