Letters To The Editor

FIREARMS

Nonsense could cost us freedoms

Re: Homayoun Abghari’s Aug. 11 letter, “Hypocrisy is costing us lives.”

Sadly, freedom has been trashed in many of the nations mentioned by Abghari. England, where most firearms are banned, is experiencing an unprecedented crime wave. Conversely, Switzerland, where most citizens own guns, has one of Europe’s lowest crime rates.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story wrote, “The right of citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic.”

Despite the recent tragic shootings by deranged individuals, millions of Americans own and use guns safely and responsibly. They use firearms, some 2.5 million times yearly, to defend themselves against criminals. Citizens use handguns for defense 1.9 million times a year. Some 200,000 of them are women.

Thirty-one states allow licensed citizens to carry concealed handguns and these citizens have a better safety record than do off-duty policeman who carry concealed handguns. Abghari’s sarcasm aside, these armed law-abiding civilians might be the militia that could step in and defend innocent, defenseless people.

Despite what I see as a pending ban on handguns, media that are hostile to firearms and the gun-hating gibberish we’re hearing by propagandists from the White House to Pullman, one fact remains sobering. According to an article in The Spokesman-Review, on July 4, no less, a Center for Survey Research and Analysis poll “identified freedom of speech as one of the most cherished of constitutional rights, followed by freedom of religion and the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.” Curtis E. Stone Colville

We have a criminal, not gun, problem

Here we go again. One of these twisted lunatics who thinks he knows how to restructure society has randomly killed and maimed several people. The first thing we hear from the newsfront and politicians is to lambaste firearm ownership.

How about placing blame where it’s really due: failure by the judicial system that allows plea bargains and sob stories to determine the release of these nuts back into society, knowing full well that eventually they’ll do something dastardly that will warrant a permanent punishment.

I’m sick and tired of seeing these wanted-person items in the paper revealing records of 10, 15, and 20 or more arrests and convictions, and these people are still free to even be on the wanted list! Not to mention the Class I and II offenders who will most likely commit a violent act again.

Let’s put these people away and keep them put away. Get real. It’s not the firearms, hammers or lawn fertilizer that’s causing the problem. I have access to all three and haven’t gone bananas yet! L.L. Seifert Spokane

Anti-gun false prophets are dangerous

Over the last few years we have witnessed attack after attack on helpless individuals. Each time, a strident cry goes up from the media and various government types asking how it could happen. Each time, experts crawl out of the woodwork and fix blame - guns, breakdown of the family, ineffective laws, overcrowded prisons, you name it.

Actually, the blame belongs to you and me. Why? Because every time victim disarmers such as Bill Clinton, Janet Reno, Dianne Feinstein, Sarah Brady, the media and various pop social scientists claimed that we are safer without a gun, we accepted their wisdom. We believed them and the lie they tell.

So, Brady, I will accept my share of blame. Will you? Will you acknowledge the blood of the innocents on your hands, the lives you have helped destroy with your lies that we are safer without a firearm to protect ourselves and our loved ones?

I have the utmost respect and admiration for line-level police officers and the job they do protecting us. However, the sad fact is that if some miscreant is hell bent on attacking you or your loved ones, a cop will not be there in time to help you. You must provide for your own self-defense. A firearm is the best tool to do this. Get one, learn to use it effectively and carry it. Paul A. Claussen Spokane

Backing off is not called for

Re: Angela Mitchell McMullin’s Aug. 16 letter, “Gun fanatics, it’s time to back off.”

The Second Amendment is there because we the people are still the main defense of this country, which has been acknowledged several times throughout our history, even recent history. The people of this country are the standing army.

She does not mention the estimated 2.5 million lives that are saved each year by the private ownership of guns. Many of these lives are saved without a shot being fired.

As a person who has served in the armed forces and swore an oath to defend the Constitution, I believe we have our current way of life and standard of living in part due to the private ownership of guns.

We must always remember that the police do not prevent crimes, they only investigate once a crime has been committed.

I will not give up my gun. McMullin and others of her ilk should be grateful for the millions of us who own guns.

Do we really want to save lives? Ban automobiles and other motorized vehicles, and more lives will be saved than by banning guns. Don Dyer Waverly

Emotional rap a bum one

Angela Mitchell McMullin’s Aug. 16 anti-gun owner letter is a perfect example of how not to frame an argument over policy and constitutional law.

Rather, by posing emotion-laden, rhetorical questions (e.g. “How many more innocent children must be led away from day camp by an armed SWAT team?”) she goes into a wild flight of inchoate causality. She implies that gun ownership is the only significant cause of violence in America and she fails to acknowledge the possibility of other, equally broad cultural factors, such as social marginalization and racism.

Moreover, McMullin attempts to rewrite the Constitution. When she argues for the irrelevancy of the Second Amendment - because of the arcane militia clause - she assumes that another implicit foundation of the right to gun ownership, self-protection, does not exist.

Even worse, McMullin claims that the amendment did not confer any kind of a right in the first place, since it was “not for the purpose of private, individual use.” When McMullin cites the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, she apparently believes that there is no individual right to the personal safeguarding of the first of these.

McMullin wants her readers to believe that rights are actually privileges to be granted or withdrawn at the pleasure of the government or public opinion.

I do not want her to choose which enumerated constitutional rights I am allowed to enjoy. In return, she may rest assured that I will never presume to do the same to her. Tom M. Wootton, Jr. Pullman

End violence by getting to the violent

Re: Angela Mitchell McMulllin’s Aug. 16 letter.

McMullin has asked some good questions. She wants to know when the gun violence will end and how many lives will be lost in the interim. She is also stunned by the number of people and organizations that spout, as she puts it “the pro-gun rhetoric.”

The reason we have so many people against gun control is because most people know it won’t work. We do have some idealistic individuals who think that passing gun control legislation will be the panacea we have all been looking for. History tells us differently. Laws only control civil people, not criminals.

McMullin then alludes to the Second Amendment and gives us her notion about why it was written. I was under the impression the Second Amendment states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” I don’t recall it saying “the right of the government to keep and bear arms.” The reason we have the Second Amendment is because we broke away from a king who had the right to bear arms but not his people. She seems to think there are some rights more basic than others when she refers to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness taking second place to the Second Amendment. One right is no more basic than any other. Hence, it was not a right at all.

The answer to her question is, we will end the violence and the killing when we start to control people and their unlawful actions. We have the laws now, we just need the elected officials to do their job and start holding individuals accountable for their conduct. Let’s not blame the general population for the actions of a few. That would be violating my rights. Bill Litsinger Sandpoint

THE ENVIRONMENT

Where are all these recovered clearcuts?

What an enlightening editorial Opinion editor John Webster wrote for the Aug. 13 Good Paper! I just wish he would have informed us as to just where we could see even one of these clearcuts that have “rapidly become lush forests again.”

In Webster’s lifetime? He must indeed be older than Mount Spokane! Ira W. Gardner Sr. Spokane

Editor’s note: In Western Washington and Oregon, replanted clearcuts produce new forests of merchantable size trees within 40 to 50 years. Second-growth and third-growth forests are common on the public and private lands west of the Cascade crest.

Obstructionists hurt our county

I am chairman of the Ferry County Action League. Approximately 85 percent of this Northeast Washington county is U.S. Forest Service land or the Colville Indian Reservation. Therefore, there’s very little tax base.

The Action League is trying to protect what’s left of the mining, timber and ranching activities. As long as I can remember (at least for the past 50 years) a large part of county government was funded by revenue derived from U.S. Forest Service timber sales. With practically no timber being offered for sale on the Colville National Forest, this revenue has all but dried up. County officials have a hard time dividing scarce funds. Many border counties are isolated, so it’s hard to attract other industries.

Pressure from self-serving environmentalists or a misinformed judge in Seattle has again tied up all timber sales on BLM and Forest Service lands in our Northwest forests.

The west side of the Colville National Forest is in Ferry County. In 1929 and 1930, huge fires burned most of this area. Mother Nature has done too good a job helping this area recover with trees as thick as hair on a dog’s back.

The U.S. Forest Service had, up to a few years ago, done a good job managing these areas. Now, the agency’s hands are tied. Even thinning sales are stopped by the appeals process. Bill Brauner Kettle Falls, Wash.

Salmon run - for the exits

Re: “Salmon run to boost job market.”

It would be better stated, “Run salmon, run for your life.”

The suggested breaching of four dams on the Snake River was to protect an endangered species. Idaho Fish and Game has already envisioned increased revenue in license fees from sport fishermen. So what are we saving the salmon for? You guessed it - according to the article, it’s sport fishing.

Let’s keep the dams. Let these dams generate the electricity, provide the barge traffic and irrigation. Take part of this revenue and ship Idaho Fish and Game out to sea. R. Stuart Kirk Ritzville

OTHER TOPICS

Moffitt lived a life of verve, spirit

David Moffitt. So many loved his irreverence when it came to wearing ladies’ skirts, or when he would somersault all around work, howling loudly. We savored David’s “go out, get life, promptly devour” attitude; it was the spirit we cherished.

His hyperenthusiasm is reflected in his impact on the mountain bike community across the region. It is echoed in his impression on the hairdressing community and in his art. It is everything he touched.

David was a masterful haircutter who earned accolades from California to Italy. I owned a salon of my own and brought David, my former teacher, in as my partner. He was loyal, honest and immeasurably creative. When the business collapsed, it was David who helped me through that excruciatingly tough time and got me back on my feet.

He was a muse in all trades and would not hesitate to shock, surprise or tease anyone. Peculiar to David was his ability to perform with virtuoso precision across divergent interests and activities.

He was perpetually at the beginning of chapters in his life, always starting something new. He founded business after business, mountain bike organizations and teams. While he spoke of self-doubts, he acted fearlessly and always stepped forward.

The message of David Moffitt’s life is clear and probably best illustrated by a bit of advice given to a young Native American at the time of his initiation:

“As you go through life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think.” Scott R. Hampton Spokane

Helpful guide for seniors available

Here’s good news for the elderly of our area: The fourth edition of The Complete Directory for Seniors and Their Families is now available for free through all area hospitals. And free copies will be available at the Senior Wellness Conference at Spokane Community College on Sept. 9. The directory may also be purchased at Auntie’s and Hastings book stores.

This directory provides a comprehensive list of help in all fields: transportation, counseling, help at home, etc. It puts seniors and their families in touch with Elder Services, offering a wide variety of support programs and referrals; the capable staffs at Northwest Medvan and STA Paratransit; and volunteer groups like Care Cars, Catholic Family Services, Care Ring, etc. Check the book for specific guidelines.

The directory’s 176 pages provide a wealth of information for every senior. In addition to volunteer groups, it explores housing options, food and nutrition programs, opportunities for seniors in educational and recreational fields, and offers informative articles on everything from how to protect your assets to older-driver guidelines, to a glossary of important legal terms. It’s a must for all seniors, and especially helpful for those who live alone.

I urge doctors, nurses, caregivers, neighbors, friends to please see that the seniors you know, especially those who are alone, get a copy of this important directory and learn how to use it.

Help is out there but far too many people are unaware of just how much assistance is readily available. Dorothy J. Fredericks Spokane