THE U.S. UNDER THE GUN
"Let Charlton Heston and his disciples each be allowed one single-shot, muzzle-loading flintlock musket." SHEP SCHWARTZ Deep River, Conn.
With Charlton Heston as its newly elected president [SPECIAL REPORT, July 6], the National Rifle Association hopes to appeal to mainstream America. The plan may backfire. Even an actor who has portrayed Moses can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. And though Heston's celebrity attracts media attention, the hateful sentiments conveyed by that golden voice will more likely guarantee a continuing decline in N.R.A. membership. Heston's outspoken and controversial reflections may win the applause...