Letters to the Editor: April 6

The Solution to Gun Violence

Declare a national gun of the USA.

Why didn’t I think of that?!?!!

And, of course, it must be

the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

Thanks to four brave GOP reps

(Wonder how much the NRA

donated to their campaigns?)

who are sponsoring this bill

in our House of Representatives.

They saw a need and were unafraid

to fulfill it – the perfect solution

to gun violence. Parents

will be proud to say their child

was killed by our National Gun.

This symbol will give them solace.

Thoughts and prayers from these

four are with the parents...

The Statue of Liberty weeps.

George and Tom and Abe and Teddy

hide their countenances

as Mount Rushmore crumbles.

The Liberty Bell cracks a little more.

Stella Miles

West side

Boredom, Republican style

Boring, boring, boring. The antics of Trump, followed by acolytes Lake, Carlson, Finchem, Wadsack, etc. etc, are all following the same game plan: “If we can’t win, at least aggravate Democrats.” It has become so tiresome, so boring, so wasteful of valuable time, to see news coverage of these losers, who decide in desperation, “If we can’t beat ’em, at least get under their skin.” Yawn. Best to just ignore them, move on to further Democratic victories, or at most, stifle a laugh. Boring, boring, boring.

Jim Torrey

West side

Legislation and education in Arizona

Arizona’s public school system is ranked as one of the worst funded across the 50 states. There is a shortage of teachers in the state of Arizona. The pandemic interfered with student learning and left many students needing additional support. However, our legislators are more concerned about banning books, teachers using “correct” pronouns, and saying the Pledge of Allegiance every day. If our legislators truly cared about children, they would look for ways to improve education, including increasing funding, instead of these political gestures to enhance political gains!

Sherry Sajdak

Southeast side

Mental health and guns

Republicans claim that there are not too many guns and that the gun problem is a mental health problem. I totally agree. The mental health problem is with GOP politicians who proudly wear AR-15 lapel buttons and pose smirkingly with AR-15s while knowing they will be the cause of future mass murders.

Alan Rubnes

Northeast side

Tucson Faith Christian Church

Re: the April 2 article “Tucson church amassing tax-free Mt. Lemmon land for leader’ use.”

Many thanks to the Arizona Daily Star’s investigative reporting on the Tucson Faith Christian Church. There are so many things wrong with this cult: abusing children, using congregation monies for church leaders’ private gatherings, questionable reports to IRS and having a low bar to be recognized as a church. The light of day is finally shining on these many misuses of people, land and monies.

Diane Wilson

Foothills

Deniers and lies

I distinctly remember that on Jan. 6, it was reported that Kevin McCarthy called Donald Trump to ask him to stop the riot. And Trump replied, “Well, Kevin, I guess they’re more upset about the election than you are.” Now McCarthy and Tucker Carlson are trying to say the riot was just a sightseeing tour with “Hang Mike Pence” signs! Sure.

And yet the networks don’t play this up!

Herbert Schneidau

Foothills

TCC clear bag policy

As a subscriber to both the TSO and Arizona Opera, I have become increasingly dismayed with the clear bag policy at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall. It is an invasion of privacy and misogynistic. No male is asked to empty his pockets, and there is no magnetometer. Part of the pleasure of attending performances is dressing up and having a nice meal beforehand. A plastic shopping bag does not enhance my appearance and allows everyone to witness my phone, wallet, credit cards, etc. An empty clear plastic water bottle was confiscated (despite the new drinking fountains containing a water bottle spigot). Perhaps this is being done to force you to purchase water bottles (increasing plastic pollution) in the lobby. This policy is not keeping anyone safer and is simply distressing. It is time for the City of Tucson to examine this policy and stop treating its citizens as common criminals before next season.

Evelyn Shapiro

Oro Valley

How can anyone be against DEI

The Arizona legislature is against teaching Critical Race Theory, which isn’t taught in our schools. Now they want to pass a bill against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. How can anyone be against those three words and what they mean? I guess they don’t want anyone to be any different than what they see in a mirror. They must be against being fair and impartial and are okay with not allowing others into their little club since they are against inclusion. Did these people ever leave high school? What kind of people are we electing to represent us and pass laws that are so mean-spirited and inhumane? I have to ask, do they even know what these three words mean?

Neil Norton

Oro Valley

The camel in the tent

Re: the April 1 article “Plan paused for TUSD faith-based committee.”

There’s a fable about an Arab who, riding his camel across the desert, pitches his tent for the night. After a while, the camel wakes him and asks to put his nose in the tent because he’s cold, so the man lets him. A little later, the camel asks to put his shoulders in the tent, and again the man lets him. This keeps up until, eventually, the camel fills the tent, forcing the man to sleep outside. TUSD’s plans to form a faith-based advisory committee, which the Governing Board was not notified of or consulted about, is another stealth attempt by the religious right to inject Christian conservatism into our public schools contrary to the separation of church and state. If parents want their children to learn Christian religious beliefs, they can teach them at home or at Sunday school. Let’s keep the religious right camel out of our tent.

Jeff Aronson

Northeast side

Fox News gets one thing right

I finally agree with Fox News that Donald Trump’s indictment is unprecedented, but why? Because he is the first former President to allegedly commit crimes. He is absolutely innocent until proven guilty, like every other citizen. A grand jury approved the indictment, not the FBI, not The DOJ, as many are screaming about. So let the system work. A judge or a jury will hear the case and decide the innocence or guilt of Trump. Until then, let’s just cool it and see what happens. I certainly do not know the facts, nor does anyone else, including all the Republican politicians and news folks screaming about a witch hunt.

Donald Ries

Southeast side