So it has come to pass that we no longer have a federal ban on semiautomatic assault weapons, a law that did no harm to this land over the last 10 years and probably averted many injuries and saved more than a few lives.

Don’t I recall that the Republicans once took pride in calling themselves the party of law and order? Didn’t we hear a lot about “compassion” during the recent GOP convention? Don’t we hear about the war on terror as a constant refrain during the current campaign?

Could someone please explain the abandonment of our home-front security, namely our officers of the law, whose state and national organizations all requested a renewal of the law? Just how is the likely proliferation of these weapons throughout the land a compassionate development? When any terrorist, domestic or foreign, will now have little problem arming himself to the hilt right in our own backyard, is this not a step backward in confronting terrorism?

If the president won’t lift a finger to renew the national law, the least we can do is try to pass a measure in Maine. This has already been done in California and Connecticut and several other states.

Edward Walworth, Lewiston