So far, Hawaii has seemed somehow safe from the horrors of the Trump administration. We’ve welcomed immigrants, are more or less happily diverse in our ethnicities, and we have much less gun violence than we have watched elsewhere. Our children feel safe in their schools and on the streets.

However, a federal appeals court has ruled that we violate the Constitution when we prohibit people from carrying handguns openly in public.

There is only one reason to carry a handgun around — to kill. It’s human to become angry and/or afraid when we feel threatened, but there are many alternatives to taking a life.

Barbara Mullen

Waimanalo

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Court ruling on guns doesn’t make sense

My reaction to the federal appeals court ruling that we can walk around the streets of Hawaii carrying arms to defend ourselves against some great menace: It’s hog manure!

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not say what type of arms shall not be infringed. In the first clause of the Second Amendment, the authors talk about a well-regulated Militia, but they did not articulate what type of arms should not be infringed.

I recommend Hawaii County appeal this case to the U.S. Supreme Court, because I now intend to walk around Honolulu bearing chemical arms like anthrax and serine so I can help defend the nation. I will keep nuclear arms at home to defend against terrorists who have nuclear dirty bombs.

Do I sound stark-raving mad to you? That is what this ruling is like to me — mad.

Phil Robertson

Kailua

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Citizens United used by Hawaii unions

When the Supreme Court issued its Citizens United decision, liberals scoffed at the finding that corporations have the same First Amendment rights of free speech and press as individuals. But I don’t recall their objecting that the same applied to labor unions and nonprofits.

Individuals can spend as much as they choose in support of their First Amendment rights, so the same is now true of these organizations. In Hawaii, it’s the unions, not the corporations, that are the big spenders on political campaigns.

First the ILWU, then HGEA, UPW and HSTA, and now the Hawaii Carpenters Union have exercised their political clout, almost always in favor of Democrats. Citizens United has facilitated these efforts, mainly by empowering political action committees (PACs).

But the unions have been politically powerful here for decades before this decision. That’s one reason we have a one-party state.

Carl H. Zimmerman

Salt Lake

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Vote against Council over 15-cent bag fee

There’s no need for my Honolulu City Council incumbent to spend big bucks for my vote. He lost it already over 15 cents.

I don’t want to pay 15 cents for a bag every time I go to Safeway or Longs. And I don’t want to carry my own bags with me everywhere I go.

The solution? Poke Council members back. Don’t vote for them.

Charles Kerr

Kalama Valley

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Pay close attention to OHA election

In Hawaii, our vote will really count this year, so let’s all do our part and participate.

We should pay close attention to the race for Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a statewide election hosting a wide field of candidates.

Forty years after being created, OHA is still a vital part of our government, and controls a large portion of Hawaii’s land and resources. It has a hand in everything from tourism to homelessness. Trustees have much on their shoulders, which means they must handle the job without becoming corrupt (as many have been), and stay true to the mandate of working for the betterment of the Hawaiian people.

They are guided by the idea that what is good for Hawaiians is good for the entire state of Hawaii. This year, more than ever before, we are truly voting for our future. May we all live up to our individual citizen’s mandate to vote for our representatives, and may the best candidates win.

Aloha.

Shana Logan

Hilo

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Kudos for ejecting ‘pro white’ candidate

I am and have always been a staunch Democrat. People will tell you, hell would freeze over before I would applaud the Republican Party. But here it is: Kudos to the Hawaii Republican Party for throwing out Bryan Feste, formerly Republican candidate in Hilo, Waiakea and Keaukaha (“GOP expels ‘pro white’ state House candidate,” Star-Advertiser, July 24).

Feste is a proponent of an “all white nation” and used derogatory language for Jews and black Americans. It seems he landed in the wrong state because if you look at Hilo, Hawaii island or the state of Hawaii, we are part of a wonderful, ethnically and culturally diverse community.

Thank you, Hawaii Republican Party. Please share those values with the Republican Party in the other states.

Ann S. Freed

Mililani

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Putin is a thug, and Trump fears him

The answer to why President Donald Trump never has anything negative to say about Russian President Vladimir Putin and always kowtows to him is simple: He is afraid. Afraid of what Putin and Russia could do if he stands up to them.

You see this scenario played out all the time in our everyday lives, in school and on the job. The thug has power. Either a person stands up and fights or decides to lavish praise and join the group, hoping to become an equal.

Trump knows he can criticize our allies and get away with it because they are decent human beings and would not resort to violence to settle a dispute, like a thug would do.

Our allies use diplomacy, a word Trump does not seem to understand.

Howard Lee

Hawaii Kai