We all realize the shooting in Connecticut was a tragedy, but why do people always want to do something about the tools the shooter uses rather than the criminals and mentally ill people who are committing these crimes? Disarming law-abiding citizens will only make easy prey for the criminals.

If you look at the FBI crime statistics for 2010, there were 358 homicides with rifles of all types, while there were 1,704 slayings with knives and 1,258 with blunt instruments, hands and feet. So you are 4.5 times like to be stabbed and 3.5 times likely to be beaten to death than shot with any rifle.

Perhaps the criminals are the problem! But the bigger issue is that the politicians are so willing to alter the Second Amendment, and once they do that, they will be free to change any part of our Constitution they desire because the citizens will be disarmed and unable to do anything about it.

Our forefathers ended the Second Amendment with "shall not be infringed" for a reason and placed it only second to what they thought was the most important, freedom of speech and religion.

MARK JOHNSON, Kennewick