AS THE OLD maxim goes, the proof that an article about a contentious subject is balanced is that both sides think it favored the other guy. Consider Richard Rosenfeld's "The Case of the Unsolved Crime Decline" [February]. Roy Jaruk, writing via e-mail, criticized the article's stance against laws that permit carrying concealed weapons for self-protection against criminals: Rosenfeld "claims that 'the case for "more guns, less crime" remains unproved.' Perhaps it does in the minds of ivory-tower liberals." A. C. Doyle of Boston chided the magazine, too: "Rosenfeld may back the NRA's push to allow concealed guns in schools and churches, but it is not based on any sort of rigorous research, nor should you try to conceal your own views against gun control under the guise of impartial reporting." A fair and balanced look at other February letters follows.

This article was originally published with the title Letters.

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