Why limit lawsuits
to ‘gun-free zones’?
Re: the Feb. 14 article “Bill would make AZ gov’t agencies liable for violence in ‘gun-free zones.’”
If we allow lawsuits as the result of gun violence in gun free zones, using Sen. David Gowan’s reasoning, we should also allow lawsuits from gun violence in any part of Arizona. If zones that allow guns, have gun violence, then let people sue “the agency for any damages.” And the argument that gun-free zones won’t stop guns? Take down the hours limitations on city parks and remove speed-limit signs, too. We can’t stop people with signs.
We are not stopping people with signs. We are warning them about a law and giving police the ability and right to stop lawbreakers.
Steve Fletcher
People are also reading…
East side
Death, mental illness
make us uncomfortable
Re: the Feb. 16 article “Right-to-die group reassembles here after rift with national outfit,” and column “Beds for psychiatric care scarce as suicide rate rises.”
I was struck by the irony of two articles in the Sunday, Feb. 16 newspaper, which seemed to me like two sides of the same coin. We lack support and services for those who legitimately want to end their lives due to suffering or pain, while we also lack the support and services for those who are contemplating suicide for mental health reasons. Underlying both is a profound discomfort with addressing death and dying in our society, as well as mental health issues.
Tim Wernette
Foothills
Bringing dogs to stores helps socialize them
Re: the Feb. 17 letter “Stop letting pets in grocery stores.”
While I understand the writer’s concerns about pets in stores, even if one is allergic to dogs, the stores are large enough that this should not be an issue. Bringing pets to stores is a valuable way to socialize the dogs, presuming they are leashed and under control as the law requires. As for being scared of dogs, if the dog is leashed it should not be a problem. I’m scared to death of clowns and I saw one recently in Walmart. Should they ban clowns, too? Any responsible owner keeps their dogs under control when they are in public, and any responsible person asks permission to pet a dog before they reach out and touch them.
Dawn Wise
Northwest side
Install jaguar flaps in the border wall
Dear Government,
I like to look at the San Pedro River every day. It brings nature to life. I like to get muddy, find footprints, put my feet in the water, climb the dirt walls, chase crayfish, and watch things go pop, pop, pop in the water. The water lets the really pretty trees live. The animals drink water and take baths, and it lets minnows and fish get around. Please don’t bring the wall because the river brings life to animals and trees.
Can you please stop making the wall or put little tubes in the wall and jaguar flaps in the wall so water and animals can go through? Because you know that the land is not yours. Nobody really owns the Earth. Plus even if the land was yours you should still share or nicely say no thank you.
Graysen Kling, age 6
Hereford
Law enforcement alphabet soup
According to Tucson Police Department Chief Chris Magnus (for whom I have great respect), the department is understaffed by more than 100 officers. By what metric are these numbers derived? Perhaps by using the formula created and advanced by the National Association of Chiefs of Police. Rhetorical question: Has anyone ever heard a chief say he has “enough” officers?
I totally support law enforcement at all levels. That said, I was thinking of agencies with a presence in Pima County. My top-of-the-head list includes: FBI, ICE, Border Patrol, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, park rangers, Federal Protective Services, tribal police, highway patrol, Arizona Rangers, Game and Fish, municipal departments in: Tucson, Sahuarita, Marana, Oro Valley, South Tucson, Pima County Sheriff’s Department, UAPD, PCCPD, et al.
Just think of the wasteful redundancy, overlap and duplication. Jurisdiction and authority issues aside, let’s think of resource and asset sharing and perhaps “metroization,” à la Las Vegas.
Bernie Bennett
East side
Gerson confused in his morality
Re: the Feb. 17 National Opinion “A pro-lifer isn’t morally obligated to vote for Trump.”
Michael Gerson tried to convince pro-life voters that it is OK to vote for pro-abortion candidates under certain conditions. Gerson is morally confused, and his confusion may affect the clear thinking of many Catholics. The Catholic Church clearly states that if a political candidate supported abortion, or any other moral evil, such as assisted suicide and euthanasia, it would not be morally permissible for you to vote for that person.
This is because, in voting for such a person, you would become an accomplice in the moral evil at issue. Moral evils such as abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide are examples of a disqualifying issue. A disqualifying issue is one of such enormity, that by itself, it renders a candidate for office unacceptable regardless of his position on other matters. Catholic Christians are held to a higher standard. When you die and stand before God in your final judgment, how will you explain that you chose to vote for candidates that destroy his creation?
Robert Kumza
SaddleBrooke
Attorney general acts like president’s crony
It has often been said that what makes our democracy stand out from other forms of government is the rule of law. You are innocent until proven guilty, and you are entitled to a fair trial judged by your fellow citizens. And justice is dispensed equally to all people without prejudice. Recent events where our president has used the Department of Justice to shield his friends (think Roger Stone and Gen. Michael Flynn) and to investigate his enemies (think James Comey, Andrew McCabe, and Joe Biden if he could). These are actions you would expect to see in Russia but not in America. It is what dictators and autocrats do to remain in power. We must preserve the rule of law at all costs.
Doing this will be difficult because the attorney general is picked by and works for the president. This is a structural weakness in our Constitution which most presidents have not abused. Donald Trump is different. The long-term solution may be a constitutional amendment, but the short-term solution is to not reelect Trump.
Michael Mulcahy
East side
Special relationships formed in hospice
Re: the Feb. 16 article “Right-to-die group reassembles here after rift with national outfit.”
From the story: “We waited too long, had we known about hospice we would have contacted them earlier, saving our loved one unnecessary pain and confusion and helping us by telling us what to expect.”
This is a common lament of families who have had a loved one in hospice.
I’ve completed a free 20-minute video on hospice. Before that I didn’t want to think about hospice, a place to go when all hope is lost. I was so wrong. The people I met were knowledgeable and compassionate. The usual team: a nurse, a spiritual adviser, a social worker and a volunteer who is bedside. There is pain, heartbreak and fear, but patient and the family are not alone. Close bonds are common; patients tell their stories, remembering things past. Patients receive, and they give.
Kenney Hegland
Midtown
Every Democrat wants my guns
Re: the Feb. 17 letter “No one wants your guns.”
This letter was a joke! Every Democrat for the past 18 months has stated they are coming for my guns, including Mark Kelly, who’s running for Senate. The writer also stated if you want one of these weapons you should be willing to go through a background check. Gee, when I purchased my AR, I had to go through a federal background check, it’s the law!
The definition of an assault weapon, a firearm capable of fully automatic fire, is when you pull the trigger and it shoots 30 bullets at a time, like a machine gun. An AR-15 is a semi-automatic, where you pull the trigger and it shoots one bullet and one bullet only! Just like my deer rifle.
The AR looks scary, that’s just cosmetic styling. Senate Bill 1625 will absolutely turn thousands of Arizona citizens into criminals overnight! Protect your Second Amendment rights, vote pro-Second Amendment candidates only.
Harold Halgrimson
Southwest side
