In Thursday's opinion column, Mr. Bennett tries to make a case against gun control by quoting standarad National Rifle Association gospel and throwin in a few illustrations of his own. Summarized, his point is this -- because guns are so prevalent in society, it would be criminal to keep law-abiding citizens from owning one for self-protection. This is the standard anti-gun control line, one that is myopic as it is unimaginative.

But by believing this, or at least pretending to, Mr. Bennett can with a straight face tell us that more guns will make us safer, while less guns will put us at the mercy of criminals. When he cites "the safety of the elderly and the women" as a case against gun control, the implication is that only by arming ourselves, and ultimately everyone, can we achieve safety.

This deliberate bastardization of logic avoids a vital point -- people with guns kill people, and do so a lot. Mr. Bennett is ignorant of, or perhaps comfortable with, the fact that America has a murder rate hundreds of times higher than most countries. So when a man kills and wounds dozens on a subway, when a mother is shot dead on a highway, when a teacher is killed by a student, Mr. Bennett cries, "Arm thyself!"

Perhaps Mr. Bennett does not see the stupidity of his position. He is not alone. There are many like him who will fight to the death for the right to carry guns, even ones whose sole function is to kill scores quickly and efficiently. They will wax poetic over their constitutional right to protect themselves from themselves. And they will brush off crimes impossible if not for this idealogy as reasons to build more jails.

The answer to the crime problem is not an easy one, and I do not pretend to have an answer. Instead, I wish to point out the absurdity of those who refuse to see gun control as part of the solution.