The terrible tragedy in Connecticut should be a huge wake-up call for all Americans. Now is the time to discuss serious gun control. Repeating guns of any sort should be reserved for law enforcement and the military. Gun shows should be against the law. Strict background checks should be enforced. The Second Amendment has been seriously misconstrued by the NRA and people who support that organization, and I urge anybody who wants to cite it as a constitutional right to go back and actually read the Second Amendment.

Guns have only one purpose: to kill. Those who argue that vehicles, knives, forks, slippery sidewalks and water also kill people are missing the point. Sure, people sometimes die from those as well, but killing isn’t their primary purpose. The primary and only purpose of a gun is to kill.

I respectfully call on every minister, priest and rabbi to address this issue from his or her pulpit. It is time we stop knuckling under to the gun lobby and call a halt to the insane proliferation of semi-automatic weapons. We cannot depend on politicians to get this done unless there is an outcry from voters.

Anne Harmon

Lexington