Letter To The Editor Of The New York Times

To The Editor:

Re "Bipartisan Hunting Buddies," by James A. Baker III and John D. Dingell (column, Jan. 30):

While I commend the attempt of the bipartisan friends Misters Baker and Dingell to fix the problem of guns in this country, I do not believe we can end violence with violence as they suggest with parents taking their children out to hunt instead of leaving them in front of "shoot-'em-up video games". Jesus taught this, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught this. Mahatma Gandhi taught this. The intended design of a gun is violence, period.

Rather than shooting animals, may I suggest adopting a dog or cat from your local SPCA and teaching your child the life affirming act of caring for an abandoned animal. Feeling its heartbeat with your hand versus ending it with a gun may just instill the importance of nurturing life, not taking it.

Toy guns on the children's playground have been replaced by real guns in the adult playground. An alternative moniker for the NRA should be Never Reconciled Adolescence.