As a former registered Maine Guide (1960s-70s) with a life-long interest in guns and hunting, I am not an enemy of gun advocates. However, recent comments by nationally syndicated conservative columnist Rich Lowry and those of our own Maine sports reporter V. Paul Reynolds, stating “the only difference between an assault rifle and (Reynolds’ semi-automatic shotgun) is their appearance” warrants a strong rebuttal.
A Bushmaster, like the one used at Sandy Hook Elementary School, by design, accepts an external clip that could be of any capacity but is currently set at 30 rounds, quickly interchangeable with additional loaded clips such as were used by Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook.
Reynolds’ shotgun, by design, has a built-in magazine that holds a maximum of four rounds, each of which must be hand-loaded into the magazine, one at a time.
It is time assault weapons were banned from American civilian society.
Steve Marsden, Auburn
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