The recent unacceptable behavior of high-profile football stars Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson has brought the nation’s full wrath down upon all domestic abusers. Sports commentators spend almost as much time reporting the latest developments in the private lives of athletes as they devote to contest scores.

In a rare bipartisan agreement, our elected officials, at every level of government, have responded to the outcry for eradication of this malignancy from our society with ardent vows of swift and effective action.

A question comes to mind: Why isn’t there a similar united outrage concerning the abuse of possession of guns?

There have been too many situations where a weapon has been involved in domestic abuse, often with fatal results. It would seem there is a correlation between domestic abuse and guns too easily available in the home.

The majority of politicians who are leading the crusade against domestic violence reject responsible gun control legislation, submitting to the lobbying coercion of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action and their allied weapon manufacturers.

In my opinion, it is not possible to achieve elimination of domestic abuse while the issue of sensible, reasonable gun control legislation is constantly evaded. The NRA and its “law-abiding,” hopefully compassionate members should be at the forefront of a debate to compromise on gun control laws that may save the lives of potential victims of domestic violence and still safeguard their established constitutional “Second Amendment rights.”

If we can all agree that we must come together against domestic abuse, why can’t we join in the same common-sense effort to contend with flagrant abuse of the privilege “to bear arms”?

Phyllis Kamin

Cumberland

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