LETTER: The Legislature and ‘ghost guns’

In his Sunday commentary, Nicholas Marquart appears to have no knowledge of what it takes to complete an 80 percent rifle or pistol frame (“ghost guns” in the parlance of the day), either in time or money.

You are required to drill multiple holes to precise measurements, as well as remove exact amounts of material from several areas. This requires a fair amount of machinist skill and proficiency with metalworking to be able to successfully complete. You then need to assemble the entire pistol from scratch — a task that is more daunting than you can imagine, especially if you have no previous experience with gunsmithing.

You will have ended up spending a fair amount more money than it would have cost to buy one off the shelf, and with a level of reliability dependent upon your mechanical skills.

After reading the column — including an interpretation of the Second Amendment as meaning “a group of gun owners who own firearms must be well-managed,” possibly the most inane description of the militia clause I’ve ever come across — I have to question his actual knowledge of firearms and gun safety.