Why do we allow this country’s gun policies to be run by the National Rifle Association and its pet politicians who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from the gun industry?

The U.S. has far more mass shootings than other countries that don’t let civilians buy military guns. No one objects to Americans having ordinary guns for hunting and personal protection, but why do we allow American civilians to easily purchase military guns that can rip apart the bodies of crowds of innocent people in a few minutes?

When the Constitution and Second Amendment were written, gun users could fire one bullet at a time. The founding fathers could not have possibly predicted today’s frequent mass murders of our own citizens.

The NRA started as an organization for normal gun owners, but now it’s an organization for gun manufacturers and politicians. If the government can regulate tobacco, why not military weapons?  We finally made tobacco companies liable for damages they caused.

Why can’t we take away the NRA’s nonprofit, tax exempt status, which is bogus, and take away the gun industry liability shield, which prevents parents of dead children from suing gun manufacturers?

Americans should be able to see a public list of senators and representatives who accept money from gun manufacturers. Those politicians should not be allowed to vote on gun issues.

We’ve been trying the “prayers and thoughts” idea for many years, but it obviously does not work. It is time to do something more.

Ellen Field, New Gloucester