To the Editor:

There has not been a time in this country when personal leadership was more needed.

Mayor Bloomberg has called upon President Obama to “stand up and lead.”

The amendment to our constitution which guarantees Americans “the right to bear arms” has been rendered obsolete by technology. Our Founding Fathers were thinking in terms of self defense. Today’s weapons have magazines that can fire rounds automatically and kill indiscriminately, well beyond self defense, be the target children or defenseless women.

This problem has not suddenly appeared. It has been before peacekeeping officials since the availability of easily hidden hand guns and the automatic rifle. These weapons have no relevance for target practice or thinning a deer herd.

They are only suitable for war not for self defense. Police departments cannot tolerate free gun ownership by the unqualified or mentally disturbed.

With the leadership of the president of the United States and the media exposure of what happened in Newtown, I would make a plea to the NRA and those who support it to modify their position on the use of weapons that have proven to annihilate masses of innocent citizens.

Richard Chapin
Georgetown