Tucson speaks out: April 26 letters of the day

Tired of waking up to another shooting? How many made headlines during the week of the NRA convention? Let’s see.

There’s the 16-year-old who rang the wrong doorbell in Kansas and got shot.

The New York car that pulled into the wrong driveway and was fired upon by the homeowner who killed a passenger.

The Kentucky bank employee with his newly-purchased AR-15 style rifle who killed five at the bank.

And, don’t forget that sweet 16 party in Alabama that ended with four dead and 32 wounded.

We live in a country where we’ve allowed gun violence to surpass car accidents and disease as the leading killer of our children.

We go to events passively, clutching our clear bags while being terrorized by too many guns in the hands of people with no idea how to use them safely.

We can fix this! YOU can fix this! In the next election, make sure you vote for candidates who support common-sense gun safety legislation.

Thea Chalow Oro Valley

Water solution

Consider this as a step toward ensuring our water future. The USS Enterprise, our first nuclear aircraft carrier, has been decommissioned. Park it off the coast of California and use its safe, established nuclear facility to power a desalinization plant. Provide the water to California and trade for an equal amount of its Colorado water.

William Wolfe

Northeast side

Fix the right roads first

Re: the March 26 section “VISION ’23.”

‘The Roads, Roads’ got my attention. Various groups are said to “Strongly support the reauthorizing of the RTA which is backed by a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2006.”

I understand what a “funding shortage” is. However, if the folks in charge of the checkbook don’t do something with what’s in the till, I, along with many in my circle, won’t be amenable to approving another extension.

No, I’m not OK with the progress so far. In particular, the mayor’s statement on TV that “all of the neighborhood streets needing repaving would be repaved.” with the condition that a new extension would be reapproved again. It does not appear to be happening. Big projects can wait; let’s take care of the streets that most of us actually use.

Charles Marmion

East side

Mifepristone and the Dark Ages

Science is science; politics is politics; religion is religion. When religion and politics invade science, it takes us back to the Dark Ages.

And that is exactly where the MAGA movement wants us to be.

Alan Rubens, MD

Northeast side

Representing job creators

Newly-elected Rep. Juan Ciscomani has appointed an Advisory Committee. The membership is large and broad, including representatives from CEOs, business owners, ranchers, educators and “job creators.” As one of the millions of job creators in Arizona, I hoped I would be eligible for membership.

Sadly, I saw that representative “job creators” were not on the committee. True job creators are the everyday citizens who shop at stores and service industries, dealing with inflation, declining wages and other everyday issues. Without increased shoppers, no business owner would ever create more jobs. Don’t think this is true? Just look at what the lack of customers did to the restaurant industry and many other businesses during the pandemic.

Business owners do not create jobs as a public service ... they create layoffs to protect profit margins.

Bruce Hilpert

North side

Pen is mightier than the sword

This old saying is no longer true, if it ever was. Each day’s papers are filled with letters decrying gun violence and pleading for some minimal gun safety laws. So far, the sword (gun) is winning. Legislators are too chicken or beholding to the NRA to introduce common sense laws that the majority of Americans support. So we write more letters. In the past week, there have been three shootings all because of “shoot first, ask questions later.” A young woman in the wrong driveway, a young man knocks on a door and a cheerleader accidentally opens the wrong car door; all killed or wounded. What are we? The Wild West? So there will be more letters this week and next. If the pen is not mightier than the sword, maybe the ballot box is mightier than the gun. Let’s try that approach.

John Kautz

Midtown

Gun violence

I record the news broadcasts that I watch so that I can skip the daily account of gun carnage. Skip the official search for “a reason.” I know the reason. Google the percentage of people in the US with mental health problems (21%), the percentage of folks with gun access (40%), and it becomes obvious that millions of people with mental health problems have military-grade guns accessible. Consider that the mental health issues include paranoia, aggressive personalities, and diminished rational reasoning power, and you can understand why I do not like to see a person carrying a gun to the grocery store. Is that person a little odd, or does he have serious mental problems? I kind of felt helpless about this until my 11-year-old granddaughter confided, in some distress, that she was afraid of being shot at school. Now I am furious; what has the NRA done to our country?

Russ Bonn

SaddleBrooke

Dr. Carmona’s praise misplaced

Re: the April 19 article “UA’s Robbins showed selfless leadership.”

Dr. Richard Carmona’s guest opinion praising his own and UA President Robert Robbins’ response to the COVID-19 epidemic on the university campus and throughout the state failed to mention that Arizona experienced the highest adjusted death rate in the United States during the pandemic. According to an analysis published in The Lancet, Arizona’s COVID death rate was 581 deaths per 100,000 people when adjusting the data to account for age and comorbidities. Those of us whose friends and family members died or became disabled from COVID here in Arizona don’t think they did the best job.

Amelia Cramer

Downtown

Joint value of planning

Re: The April 12 article, “Our Lives, Our Stories and April 16th”

Kudos to Martha Lungren for sharing her personal story about the differences in her sister’s and her mother’s end-of-life preparations. I’d like to suggest another vital component to add to end-of-life care conversations, and that is planning where, how and with whom you want to live — under a bridge, on a cruise ship, with your children in Bismarck, N.D., or in a comfortable Tucson home and neighborhood. Because many older adults have such difficulty finding affordable housing, home sharing is viewed as a safe and affordable plan for companionship, healthy aging and end-of-life combined. Like advance planning documents for healthcare, a plan for housing is also a gift to yourself and to those you love. Visit us at www.tucsonhomesharing.org to explore the benefits and possibilities of home-sharing and see whether it’s the right option for you.

Lucy Read, Tucson Home Sharing, Inc.,

Board of Directors

Foothills

Reduction of disabled spaces

Walmart recently added yellow lines in the handicapped parking area of the one at Speedway and Kolb. This means very few, if any, handicapped parking is near the door. On the 17th, another disabled person went to Tucson City court to fight a $500 parking ticket. The judge came off the bench and spoke with Vicki Abbott given the recent occurrences of this type. After a brief discussion, the judge dismissed the case and fine, suggesting further review by the Walmart Corporation in Bentonville, Arkansas. Abbott called the headquarters and talked with two separate managers who promised to convey such info to the appropriate leaders for consideration. This form of entrapment is unreasonable; if the handicapped can’t get in the store, Walmart will not see this income anymore!

If you are handicapped or disabled, please let your voices be heard in a kind but direct manner to help both yourself and Walmart. Thank you very much.

Judd Keener

East side

Where are we headed?

Tim Steller, among others, has called for free public transportation. The federal government will begin to collect fees from people with good credit ratings to subsidize those with poor credit ratings. Energy costs are going thru the roof; how long will it be before certain customers pay more to subsidize those who can’t afford heat, A/C, and water?

From each according to his/her ability to those according to their need. Sound familiar?

Bill Blaine

Marana