Letters to the Editor: March 24

I find it disturbingly ironic that Arizona’s state-level politicians who don’t want anyone else to decide what books their children access in schools and school libraries and what lessons children learn in classrooms are so laser-focused on telling others what we should want our children to read and learn.

As a retired educator, I know that classroom teachers and school librarians encourage our youth to be curious, to question, and to arrive at their own opinions. As a parent, I know that I always had the right to talk with our children about what they were reading and what they were learning in school. We trusted our kids, and we trusted their educators.

As a voter in gerrymandered LD17, I encourage state Sen. Justine Wadsack to focus on what’s really important to our grandchildren’s future: water, infrastructure, health care, housing, and yes, a well-funded public school system and fully resourced classrooms and libraries.

Judi Moreillon

Northeast side

Gun violence

A sure solution to America’s gun violence problem.

According to the NRA, the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

Assuming there are more good people than bad, I propose a law requiring that every person in the United States be required to possess a firearm at all times. Since most of our high-profile shootings occur in schools, it is important that teachers as well as students be armed. I think there are already enough guns in the country to arm every man, woman, and child. With a move afoot in Washington to declare the AR-15 the national gun, you could defend yourself with one of those babies while at the same time showing that you are a true patriot.

This should put an end to our gun violence problem.

Scott Turner

Northwest side

Arizona Game and Fish

My family received a full-color mailer from Arizona Game & Fish imploring “wildlife enthusiasts like you” to donate their state tax refunds to “help conserve and protect” Arizona wildlife. I was disgusted!

Trophy hunters from across the United States and the world come to Arizona to kill mountain lions. Why Arizona? Arizona Game & Fish allows use of the cruelest methods.

In Arizona, the hunt typically involves trained hound dogs chasing a mountain lion for miles. The exhausted lion instinctively seeks safety in a tree. Hunters shoot the lion until it can no longer hold on. The dogs may attack the dead or dying lion when it hits the ground.

Over 300 Arizona mountain lions are killed each year for “recreational purposes.” Arizona Game & Fish profits from this carnage through the sale of hunting tags and guide licenses. Don’t give Arizona Game & Fish your tax refund. Don’t mark “Arizona Wildlife” on AZ Form 140.

Travis Cooper, 10th grader and future Arizona voter/taxpayer

Northwest side

Electric vehicles

Re: the March 16 article “$2.5B in federal grants for EV chargers for underserved areas.”

Why is the federal government using our tax dollars to construct EV charging stations? In the early 1900’s, as gas and diesel vehicles began replacing traditional horse drawn carriages and wagons, did the federal government build gas stations across the country? No! Oil and gas companies saw the opportunity to make money and build businesses based on oil and gas vehicle usage.

Why aren’t electric utilities or EV car manufacturers leading the way in EV charging infrastructure development? Currently local utility and federal government subsidize these ventures? Should “we,” gas- and diesel-powered car owners, be subsidizing EV charging for a small “preferred” group of EV owners? If we continue this trend, how will the “government” replace the gas taxes used to fund our roadways? Will the EV charging network ever be self-supporting?

Seems to me there are better places for our utility profits and our tax dollars to be spent.

Cal Rooker

Northwest side

Threats to our freedoms

At a time when more and more Americans are rejecting religious affiliation, the far ultra-religious right (“Christian Nationalism”) and affiliated Republicans, etc., are trying to restrict our freedoms. Look at what is going on in Florida. How did Gov. DeSantis, the wannabe dictator of Florida, bamboozle enough people to get reelected? The ultra-religious right’s idea of “freedom of religion” is that they should have the “right” to force their beliefs on the rest of us and control how we live. No one religion is “superior” to any other.

I would guess that most Christians do not approve of the ultra-right’s feeling of being threatened by differences. These ultra-right Christians “demonize” anyone who is different from them or disagrees with them. This is called an “us versus them” siege mentality. Anyone who is different from them is seen as a threat.

Flora Frederick

Midtown

Words matter

Re: the March 19 article “The words we use matter more than ever.”

1959 was a time of relative innocence. No internet and three vanilla TV stations leading with “Leave It to Beaver” programming. It was the time when I was groomed by a pedophile. Writing these words still brings anxiety. Today’s in-civil political environment has thoughtless individuals wielding the words “pedophile” and “groomer” as cheap insults. It hurts. Please join me in condemning this behavior everywhere, all the time. And thanks to Supervisor Heinz for his Daily Star op-ed doing so.

William Krauss

Downtown

Governor’s priorities

With immigrants flooding our borders, zany legislators debating which pornographic books are essential reading for our youth, and losers of the last election still clinging on for attention, thank goodness Gov. Hobbs has her priorities straight.

Her courageous steps to end the scourge and oppression of hair discrimination will go a long way to solving a vexing issue of our time.

What is next for her ambitious social agenda, a cure for baldness?

Jay Allen

Downtown

Fare-free transit got me back on the bus

When Tucson’s transit became fare-free, I started using it more. I took my kids to school by bus, and they loved it. The bus filled with youth going to middle and high schools — without fares it was amazing how quick our stops were. Another day, with extra time on our hands, my kids and I hopped on the bus to Bookman’s. I don’t need rides very often because it’s easier to just hop on the bus. I found I like taking the bus — they are clean and comfortable, bus drivers are nice, buses are more efficient than I realized, I enjoy the walks to and from bus stops, I can keep up on emails and texts, I love not having to deal with traffic or finding parking, and it’s nice being dropped off and picked up. Tucson’s transit system needs many improvements, but being fare-free is an improvement we should keep while we work to prioritize and invest in public transit.

Riley Merline

West side