THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, May 4, 1995                  TAG: 9505030019
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A18  EDITION: FINAL  
TYPE: Letter
                                             LENGTH: Short :   43 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** Paul R. Smith's letter to the editor, ``One by one'' (May 5), was, as the letter writer notes in a telephone call to the newspaper, an ironic comment upon some gun proponents' justification of the bombing in Oklahoma City as an attack upon a ``tyrannical'' government. Irony is often misunderstood and angry phone calls to his residence left no doubt that Mr. Smith's letter had been misinterpreted by some. He says: ``I very much deplore the terrorist act in Oklahoma City. I sincerely regret any pain my letter may have caused anyone, especially the families of the victims. I plead their forgiveness.'' Clarification published in The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star on Saturday, May 6, 1995, on page A14. ***************************************************************** ONE BY ONE

I don't see why all the fuss about the Oklahoma City bombing. These fine, patriotic Americans were simply defending their God-given right to keep and bear arms. The death and destruction they caused is merely collateral damage in their war against oppression and tyranny.

The body count is rising - whether by the score in Oklahoma City or one by one in the streets of this nation. Twenty years ago we finally had the courage to say enough Aemricans had died on Vietnamese soil. How many children must die on our own soil before we have the courage to say this madness must also end? Perhaps the next ``We are the NRA'' promotional should feature a picture of McVeigh superimposed on a picture of the charred and mangled remains of the babies pulled from his ``masterpiece.''

PAUL R. SMITH

Virginia Beach, April 26, 1995 by CNB