Proposed bans
President Biden addressed the nation reiterating his stance of banning "assault weapons" and high-capacity magazines. He did not provide any specifics. There are about 20 million AR-15 semi-automatic rifles in the hands of Americans who legally purchased them. Probably over 100 million high-capacity AR and handgun magazines have been legally purchased also. What would happen to current owners of these? In 2020, Arizona Democrat legislators sponsored Senate Bill 1625, that defined an assault weapon as a semiautomatic rifle with a detachable magazine, which would have included shotguns and pistol caliber carbines with detachable magazines. Owners of these and high-capacity magazines would have been required to move them out of state, make them inoperable, or turn them over to law enforcement within 90 days. Owners could retain them by registration with law enforcement, pay an annual fee and undergo annual background checks. Non-compliance was a misdemeanor to a felony. This is an example of how Democrats would treat current law-abiding legal owners of ARs and high-capacity magazines.
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Ivan Stanski
West side
Gun violence
Gun ownership is a right in America and the vast majority are law-abiding. The illegal use of semi-automatic and military grade weapons has created an ongoing domestic war that destroys our families, fractures our communities, and strains the resources of law enforcement. As long as we accept this, we should consider the might of our military to perform peacekeeping measures to saves lives right here in our sacred country. Our armed forces have a proud tradition of fighting foreign wars, now is the time to focus on the war on our own soil. Possibly, this will be a wakeup call that if we really want our freedoms and really want to stop this homeland carnage, we will need to fight for it though legislation, gun safety features, and ongoing advocacy. Our lives depend upon it.
Tim O'Connor
West side
What is truth
Re: the June 3 letter "Guns for protection."
This letter was woefully myopic. The Framers guaranteed "arms" and "well regulated militia" for protection in the absence of the Army, primarily. Think about it, I went into Iraq during Desert Storm and wiped out 115,000 Republican Guard troops, that country has relied on militias, albeit not particularly regulated, to fight for their country. We call them "insurgents," or even terrorists.
As for the Civil War; yes, more than a half a million men died. That they were mostly white is irrelevant. The misnomer is that they were fighting to "end slavery." The Civil War was about economics between the industrial North and the agrarian South and the tariffs and taxes and politics therein. President Lincoln saw an opportunity to advance his desire to end slavery and made it, at the time, an ancillary issue within the scope of the war. History has bastardized the whole of the situation and made it into this noble effort that just isn't true.
John Harman
Southeast side
Why young men can kill
"No young man of twenty thinks he can ever die." When I remember this saying adapted from William Hazlitt's "Feeling of Immortality in Early Youth," I recall many military men arguing for the draft, saying that the youngest men make the best soldiers (they also are the most obedient). I submit that the rash of shootings by young men is partly due to their inability to grasp the reality of death. For them, it's like movies, video games etc. They do consciously know they too will die, and in fact they know that they are committing suicide by cop; but they see a chance for a kind of fame that otherwise they cannot have.
If we can't stop the selling of AR-15s, we can restrict eligibility to age 25, and demand waiting periods with thorough background checks. NRA people should agree — it would make them look more rational.
Herbert Schneidau
Foothills
Speak up and vote for solutions
Re: the June 3 letter "Let's change things."
Dear Editor,
This letter hits the nail on the head: voters can bring about the changes that matter by electing candidates who are supporting these changes. Climate change, housing and childcare crises, and gun tragedies all have solutions. Another solution, already proven to work, was expanding the Child Tax Credit that lifted 4 million children out of poverty. When it wasn’t renewed those same children fell back into poverty. Why?
During this election time is our opportunity to ask candidates what they will do. Use their answers to decide your vote and then follow up to make sure the solutions are forthcoming. Our votes and voices can truly make a difference and strengthen our democracy in the process.
Willie Dickerson
Northwest side
Need to carry a gun
Re: the June 5 letter "Democrats caused record gun sales."
The letter writer suggests how Democrats caused record gun sales. She ends her letter about how great it was that a woman in West Virginia shot and killed a convicted felon with an AR rifle with her legally carried handgun. Why would she need to carry a firearm to a graduation party? I am not sure that this one instance is a good argument for allowing hundreds of children to be slaughtered for the freedom to carry a weapon of war. If AR rifles were not available in this country, there would not have been a need for any gunfire at this graduation party. Why are we the only industrial country that allows AR rifles to be sold on the open market? We have hundreds more gun deaths in this country than anywhere else in the developed world. Why? Because we allow war weapons to be sold and carried. There should be no need to carry a weapon meant for killing to a graduation party or anywhere else in our country.
Neil Norton
Oro Valley
Replacement theory
The number of people who put stock in this "replacement theory" is astounding. Clearly, nobody is being replaced; they are all here and they are all writing letters to the editor about being replaced. The replacement theory obviously does not work, because as I just pointed out, these people are still here.
Liz Temple
West side
Biden misleads on liability
In 2005, a bipartisan Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). "It protects firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products. Both arms manufacturers and dealers can still be held liable for damages resulting from defective products, breach of contract, criminal misconduct, and other actions for which they are directly responsible. They may also be held liable for negligent entrustment when they have reason to know a gun is intended for use in a crime." A properly functioning firearm is not defective. Prior to PLCAA, the anti-gun crowd sued firearms manufacturers with the goal of financially ruining them, the reason President Biden and Democrats want PLCAA repealed. Automobiles have been used to mow down crowds of people. Should auto manufactures be financially responsible for those deaths and injuries? Commercial firearms are manufactured/sold for home/self defense, hunting and sporting pleasure. From the movie "Shane," "A gun is as good or as bad as the person using it."
Ryan Bodsworth
East side
NRA, GOP and the 2nd Amendment
The GOP and the NRA are intent on increasing the number of guns in the US. What they don’t say is that our nation has the highest gun death rate among wealthy countries simply because of the huge number of guns we have. They misuse the Second Amendment, saying it gives a citizen the right to own guns. It does not. The second part of the amendment is predicated on the first part. Otherwise, it would have been written simply as “The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” It is apparent the GOP will never compromise to reduce the number of guns and killings. They will argue ad nauseam about the sanctity of the Second Amendment. How sad and so wrong.
Michael Mount
Foothills
Proposal for mass shootings
Be it resolved that in the event of a mass shooting in The United States, the following shall apply:
1. Immediately identify by name, age, and gender the victims; post pictures of their lifeless, mutilated bodies.
2. Identify the alleged perpetrator by name, age, gender, and state where the weapon or weapons were purchased and if they were legally or illegally purchased. Picture and background published.
3. Establish a central location where flowers, toys, and other items of remembrance can be purchased online and delivered to the site with notes of sympathy. Cryptocurrency accepted.
4. Establish a national web site e.g., Facebook, where “thoughts and prayers” can be posted, as well as pictures of mourners crying.
5. Send numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 to all senators and representatives so they express their grief and shock.
6. Watch as nothing is done to stop future massacres.
Enough already! Stop the madness.
Valerie Golembiewski
Southeast side
Gun laws will save lives
The current emphasis on gun ownership for protection against government is complicit with current residents who are going about their business at schools and other usually safe, soft venues are targets as well. Pandora's box is open, and slowing these murders down in an effective, robust way is impossible with the current stance on community needs as being opposed to individual freedom. I think the repeal of past gun laws has led us to an increasingly dangerous society. The "way back" party is avoiding actions needed to return to safer times when guns used for crimes could be destroyed, and gun show and private owner sales were regulated. Past laws provide a great basis for current laws — if we have the will. At the very least, funding for the CDC public health initiative on guns should be reinstated at levels high enough to be sure that we are doing the right things to end this, in real time, not years from now.
Mary Andersen
East side
NRA at war on America
1. Apparently, some of the children murdered with the AR-15 in Uvalde were so mutilated they could only be identified by having their parents provide a DNA swab.
2. Apparently, some of the parents of the children murdered in their school in Sandy Hook have been harassed by fellow Americans who claim the massacre was a hoax.
3. It appears the NRA and the gun lobby are at war with America. It is long past time that America responds.
Michael Judd
East side
Biologists managing mountain lions
Re: the June 7 article "Mountain lion population bouncing back."
Dr. Brian Jansen's guest column advocates a great change in the Arizona Game and Fish Commission's existing mountain lion management policy which has the politically appointed commissioners determining mountain lion management.
In the past, when professional biologists have suggested a reduction in the number of multiple bag limit permits for one person to kill lions — up to 20 per year for one hunter in some areas — the commission members very often override the biologists and set higher bag limits than biologically justified. Dr. Jansen is naive to think that recommendations he and his other professionals make will dominate at the Arizona Game and Fish Commission. It's too bad that a dedicated biologist like Jansen is so mistaken about what does and will continue to actually happen.
Ricardo Small
Northeast side
Tucson trash
Re: the June 8 article "Too much trash on Tucson streets."
This article made good points about her main issue.
She also wrote that the University of Arizona's campus is "incredibly beautiful." To me this means she has never seen the Cornell University campus nor the campus or the University of Wisconsin-Madison, on Lake Mendota. Those are truly incredibly beautiful campuses she might wish to visit.
Finally, Ms. Filipponi made the statement, "Tucson is one of the most beautiful cities in the world." That got my wife to ask me why I was laughing out loud. Obviously, Ms. Filipponi has not been to the beautiful cities of Europe or Japan, nor truly beautiful cities in the other 49 states.
Jeff Dean
Northwest side
The second Gilded Age
Many modern-day companies have become monopolies by reducing competition. The second Gilded Age has been created because of great technological advances (as was the first). The only solution is to use existing antitrust and monopoly laws to break up these large companies. There is something wrong when parents have less influence on their children than social media posts allowed by Big Tech.
Victor Panizzon
Northwest side
