Letters for March 22, 2023
Gun control
It’s unfortunate that Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson continue their misguided attack on citizens exercising their Second Amendment right to lawful firearm ownership. They and other gun control politicians demonize firearm ownership instead of confronting the criminals in our communities.
They make statements that firearm restrictions will “make our communities safer,” “reduce gun crime” and “are common sense measures,” none of which are true. The restrictions they propose include longer waiting periods, outlawing the sale or purchase of certain semi-automatic firearms (no such thing as an assault weapon), magazine capacities and holding gun manufacturers or sellers liable for gun sales that result in firearms being used by criminals or mass shooters. What?! Then hold automobile manufacturers liable for the 40,000- plus people killed by automobiles annually in the U.S. and thousands more with lifelong injuries.
These are all feel-good measures that will do nothing to reduce the use of firearms by criminals. Criminals don’t obey firearm laws. Gun control laws only affect law- abiding people who go through legal means to obtain firearms.
The solution is crime control. Enforce harsh penalties and already existing laws aimed at criminals who carry and use firearms to commit crimes. Don’t defund the police. That’s what criminals and anarchist’s want. Look no further than the chaos and riots in Seattle or Portland to see how well that works.
John Lagerquist
Cheney
Drive responsibly
On March 17, I watched a Spokane Public Schools official vehicle almost mow down a man on a bicycle in the Garland District. An eastbound vehicle stopped and signaled to parallel park and the SPS vehicle (also eastbound) went completely out into the westbound lane to go around instead of waiting for 30 seconds. Bad enough, but there was a bicyclist already in that westbound lane and the truck came very close to hitting him. The cyclist was in full high visibility gear and was fortunately paying attention, but it was a near miss. The driver of the truck gained nothing, he drove up to the red light at the next intersection and waited for it to turn green at about the same time that he would’ve reached the intersection if he’d waited. But he could easily have injured or killed a fellow human just through being careless, rude and impatient.
Don’t drive like a jerk.
Nola Barrett
Spokane
Early learning
As a parent, I’ve personally seen and experienced the good ECEAP has done for me and my daughter. It got her started on a path for help with speech and learning, because I know the gift of the program I can only imagine the help it could do for others in the community. Unfortunately we are faced with challenges due to the lack of child care funding and accessible preschool options.
This is devastating to our community and concerning due to the negative impact the pandemic left us. Our early learning programs have been hit and our kids are missing out and not receiving the resources they deserve to succeed at a young age.
So please, I ask that we increase our investments in our working Connections Child Care reimbursement rates for providers and invest an additional $11.084 million in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance program, to support kids’ education to success.
Rochelle Durruthy
Spokane
Grocery bags
A person with the limited knowledge that I have probably should not question a decision made by Walmart, but here goes. Why ban plastic and paper bags? Plastic does create problems in oceans.
The manufacturing of both plastic and paper bags provides multiple jobs with decent wages. Paper bags break down rather quickly when exposed to the elements. Paper also burns very well for those communities that burn trash to generate electricity and/or heat. Plastic also burns but I don’t know if that is good or bad.
Carry bags are fine for dry goods and well-sealed others, but if there is a little leak now and then soon you will have a bag so contaminated with germs and bacteria that the bag will be able to enter the store on its own power.
John May
Chewelah
Carlson’s gaslighting
I see a new positioning statement for Fox “News” after Tucker Carlson’s gaslighting of the Jan. 6 violence with the tapes Speaker McCarthy gave him. To wit: “We Lie. You Decide.”
Jim Kane
Reardan