At the risk of being accused of exploiting a near-tragedy, let me ask a few basic questions of the MAGA/Second Amendment crowd.

First, their default position seems to be that everyone is a responsible, law-abiding gun owner – until they’re not. When did Dad or Thomas Crooks fall out of the default category: When Dad bought the AR-15? When Tom first thought of shooting Trump? When he “borrowed” the gun? When he climbed up on the roof with the gun? When he pulled the trigger?

Second, given these gun advocates’ aversion to universal background checks, red flag laws and nearly every other attempt to mitigate out-of-control gun violence, how was anyone to know if that line had been crossed, let alone do something about it?

Steven Zimmerman
Topsham