I have used weapons since I was big enough to carry one, and now own two handguns, four shotguns and three rifles, two with scopes. I use them carefully, for hunting game from our family woods and fields, and occasionally for hunting with my family and friends in other places. We cherish the right to own a gun and some of my hunting companions like to collect rare weapons. One of them is a superb craftsman who makes muzzle-loading rifles, one of which I displayed for four years in my private White House office.

And yet ... the Second Amendment isn't about hunting, is it? If you feel better having clearly inferior firepower when the need arises (and I pray it never does), I support your choice. But if I choose to cover all the bases with sport/utility rifles so that I know I'll have the tools to get the icky jobs done, don't pretend that it's some kind of criminal tendency.