GUNS

The cover of July 30 shows a serious-looking but presentable lady holding a beautifully preserved vintage musket at port arms, determined to be allowed to go on collecting her flintlocks. Why didn’t you run the pot-bellied wretch with the Uzi and a steel garbage can over his head on the cover? He’s what the guns question is really all about. But the NRA-ists can always find ways to deflect the debate onto issues like blunderbuss collecting. Shame on publications that abet such obfuscation! Don’t kid yourselves--no matter how even-handed the discussion on the inside might be, the imagery of your cover is what most people absorb.

JIM HOUGHTON, Los Angeles