Letters to the Editor

Calls for boycott are thoughtless

Does every person in Hawaii disapprove of gays? Do all Arizonans want to rid their state of Mexicans? Did a small independent gas station owner cause the oil spill in the gulf? Is everyone who lives in Aruba responsible for the fact that Natalee Holloway went missing?

Of course the answer to all of these questions is no. I can’t figure out why these days people immediately call for a boycott without thinking of who their boycott will really affect.

What ever happened to the good old hunger strike?

Honest people with guns can curb crime

If you have a brain and have been paying attention, you know that gun registration is a useless humbug for honest people, that magazine limits and restrictions of firearms by appearance are ridiculous, and that most of the country understands that when honest people own guns freely and carry them concealed, violent crime is curbed significantly.

A large majority of the other states have fewer restrictive laws and more armed, honest people, but our officials can’t seem to grasp the idea that less crime is the result. Criminals respond to changes in their environment and they fear armed citizens.

Is anyone surprised that criminals don’t obey the law and will steal a gun or buy one illegally? No registration hassles for them!

More guns means more gun deaths

John Mack’s letter seems to say that less-restrictive gun laws would allow more people to own guns and therefore be more safe ("Safety harmed by isle gun laws," Letters, July 4).

Statistically it is not true that more guns make people safer or more gun means less crime.

More guns mean more gun deaths. The United States has more gun owners than any industrialized country and we have more gun deaths than any industrialized country per capita.

Legalized gambling didn’t save Nevada

For those politicians and citizens of Hawaii who think that bringing in legalized gambling will help us financially, how about this statistic published in Time magazine June 28: Nevada has the worst expected budget shortfall (56.6 percent) in the nation. Guess those casino revenues aren’t the magic bullet.

Marijuana harmless unless it’s illegal

We have had the prohibition of marijuana for 73 years and a black market valued at about $50 billion per year in this country. Much of this money goes to the violent Mexican drug cartels. Legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes would create legal jobs, much the same as in the tobacco and liquor industries.

Anywhere between 50 and 60 percent of our country’s population admit trying marijuana. The true percentage is probably considerably higher. If marijuana is harmful, then where are all the birth defects, the paranoid schizophrenics, the bank robberies and stolen car rings attributable solely to marijuana addiction?

Audit could help stop teacher furloughs

Lee Cataluna states, "Audits are what politicians propose to show they’re doing something, anything" (Star-Advertiser, July 6). I want to point out that Webster’s definition of an audit is "a methodical examination and review." Audits are a familiar tool utilized in the corporate community. A good audit will inform management where expenditures are and also assist in developing more efficient plans. I strongly support a full-blown audit should be conducted on the state Department of Education in order to avoid any future teacher furlough epidemics.