Protect kids, not guns
There are now over 300 “mass shootings” in America as of July 4, 2022, and we are only half way through the year. What is happening in our country, when the Supreme Court won’t act on getting assault rifles out of the hands of dangerous people? There are now more guns in America than there are citizens. Perhaps the Supreme Court needs to be expanded or maybe investigated?
The words used by the people on the Fox propaganda/entertainment channel is “baby killers,” referring to the rights of a woman to have an abortion and control over her own body. It is more appropriate, is it not, to call the people supporting the NRA “baby killers”?
The school shootings since Columbine in 1999 seem like a monthly occurrence, and nothing is being done to change the laws to acquire assault rifles. We all know the reason is “dark money” from the special interests, such as the NRA, given to the politicians for their campaigns.
Doing nothing in this carnage is a sin, Republicans. Please stop pretending you are “God-fearing Christians.” What would Jesus do? Isn’t that one of your mantras? It seems as though you love your guns more than your children. We are the only developed country in the world to have these mass murders almost daily. Do something, senators, our children, and our future, is dying. I’m really tired of hearing “thoughts and prayers.” We need action now.
Linda Carr, Eagle
Off the mark
Deb, the Garfield County Dem chair, wants to teach us about gun safety? (PI, June 17, Dems column). Taking advice about gun safety from the party that gave the Taliban $80 billion worth of the latest, most lethal weaponry known to man is hard for me to swallow. Deb’s Dems have shown abysmal ineptitude in Joey’s first year and a half. Afghanistan, open borders, crime, inflation and even baby formula. You’d think a smidgen of self awareness or contact with reality would cause Dems enough embarrassment to shut up.
But no. We can pass laws till the cows come home, but we can’t legislate morality. We can deter criminals with severe consequences. A tragic mass shooting ignites great passion, yet the murder numbers in our urban gang war zones are far greater. But they spawn as much interest as the weather report.
Our children deserve as much and more security than our banks or airports. Every school should have armed security on site, and we should use unspent COVID-19 billions to upgrade safety.
But instead of solutions, Deb chooses to blame the NRA for school shootings. Dems have to denigrate to divide us so they can dominate.
All mass school shootings happen in “gun free zones,” and no NRA member ever caused one. Those intent on killing children, for whatever psychotic need, don’t fear laws or care about zones. However, lethal security might change the mind of craven, misfit cowards who seek the path of least resistance and risk.
Too bad the Dems removed armed security from teachers’ unions controlled schools because it might traumatize kids. I wonder how traumatized the survivors of that Texas blood bath were.
Safety for all Americans begins with removing criminals from society. By ending Dems’ no-bail laws. By recalling Dem pro-crime, Soros-backed DAs. By refunding police and respecting the sacrifices they make every day while protecting us.
It’s like we’re watching Joe Nero fiddle while the U.S. burns. Luckily, the cavalry is coming in November. Hopefully Deb’s Dems haven’t destroyed our country by then.
Bruno Kirchenwitz, Rifle
‘Me first’ drivers
Thank you Mark Barritt (LTE July 8). I think the city of Glenwood Springs should throw away every stop sign and speed limit sign in the trash and save their money. Not many people abide by them anyway.
We, too, have been on Glenwood streets and been passed like we are standing still. We were passed on Colorado Avenue, guess we were not going fast enough for the passer. We have been passed on Midland; we thought the person was turning but he raced past us via the turn lane and flipped us off.
The worst intersections from our travels are the three-way stop at GSHS and at Eighth and Pitkin, and it is very near the police station. People just play the “me first” game not caring who is in their way.
The 27th roundabout is a joke and very dangerous. The yield signs don’t mean a thing as no one yields to anyone else; it is the “me first” thing again. Here, you take your life in your own hands and pray for the best!
C.D. Gilliam, Glenwood Springs
Disheartend by gun stance
It was disheartening to read the letter of July 8 by Pedro Nevaja, who lives in our Glenwood community. His is a minority opinion in his belief that ownership of guns will be threatened by gun control laws controlling aspects of gun availability.
Seventy percent of Americans disagree. They want these laws; 45,000 people died from gun violence in 2020, according to the CDC. As far as I know, no one except convicted felons or red-flagged people deemed a danger to themselves or others, has been denied gun ownership. One fear seems well-founded, the other is factually unfounded.
I am unsure why Mr. Nevaja argues that the U.S. pulling out of the unwinnable war in Afghanistan is an abdication of our defense. We invaded Afghanistan like the Russians before us and they successfully rejected our foreign dominance. Notably, this was without every man, woman and child in Afghanistan owning a gun.
Weapons of war are not meant for self-defense. Gun control is overdue. Laws should be for the protection for minorities and nonminorities alike. Many immigrants have chosen the U.S. for its safety and stability. I prefer decisions of life and death be made by people I elect, rather than the aggrieved gun owner down the street. I support bans of high capacity guns and raised age limits for ownership, now.
Barb Coddington, Glenwood Springs
In support of traffic cops
A recent article talked about putting signs along Grand Avenue to reduce speeding. The signs along Grand Avenue saying “take a minute” and “slow down in town” show that there is a concern from our citizens to get drivers to slow down.
I agree with Chief Deras that a law enforcement position, dedicated to traffic on Grand Avenue and Glen Avenue, would bring better results. Does Glenwood PD have the staffing to make this happen? If you stop a vehicle in “rush hour” traffic, you cannot clog up the lanes, causing more problems. That vehicle must be moved to a side street, which can be accomplished with a little effort on the part of the officer.
As I drive the speed limit on Grand and Glen, I get passed like I am standing still. This occurs every time I drive down those streets. As I enter Grand and Glen from side streets, at the traffic lights, invariably someone runs a red light. I have seen semi trucks, pickups and cars of all types run these lights. I am not talking about a light turning yellow! I am talking about a light that has been solid red for several seconds. Someone is going to die or be seriously injured by these red light runners.
Speed will, in fact, be a factor in these situations. When people decide they are going to run a red light, what do they do? That’s right. They hit the gas! How about signs saying “run a red light, get a ticket”? I guess we could not do that, because it would show us to be an unfriendly city.
I have three tips for drivers (especially young drivers): 1. When a light turns green, do not go. First, look both ways for speeding vehicles that you know will not be able to stop. 2. Look again. 3. Always wear your seat belt. Your life and others’ may depend on it.
I have seen vehicles coming into town on Highway 82 traveling at 65-85 mph. The speed limit drops from 55 to 45 to 35 and then 25 mph as you come into town. Many people pay no attention to the signs. Maybe a cost, in the form of a ticket, will save a life.
Mark Barritt, Glenwood Springs
Defend Second Amendment
When it comes to gun rights and the Second Amendment, let’s talk about facts, not feelings. Remember, this is about truth vs. lies, right vs. wrong, not Republican vs. Democrat.
Facts (all 2021 data): There are over 390 million privately owned guns in the U.S. with over 1 trillion rounds of ammo accompanying these guns; 81.4 million citizens own at least one gun; 42% are women; 58% are men.
Since 2019, nearly 50% of all first-time gun buyers are women. Two-thirds of these owners list self-defense as their primary reason for ownership. Increasingly, minorities outpace nonminorities in gun ownership as a percentage of the population. To summarize, gun ownership by law-abiding citizens is growing, and in a very diverse way.
Those who want to take away your 2nd Amendment right have recently been defeated by Supreme Court rulings, but that doesn’t mean they are going to give up on their attempts to disarm law-abiding citizens. They will say that the Constitution was written when muskets were the only firearm in use and that modern guns are so much more advanced than the founding fathers could’ve imagined.
Let me ask: What was the most advanced, highest capacity firearm available in the late 1700s? The musket! The Constitution doesn’t say “musket,” it says “arms.” Our Founders foresaw the need for us to progress with the times and be able to be armed in the same fashion as those that would seek to invade us or disarm us.
The anti-2A’s say that only law enforcement and military need to have certain kinds of guns and that we can rely on them to “protect” us. Would that be the same LE that handled the Uvalde shooting, the BLM/Antifa riots, or were the enforcers of the unconstitutional “pandemic” lockdowns? Or how about the military’s abandonment of Afghanistan, or the examples of Pol Pot and the former USSR?
We need to be our first line of defense. We cannot abdicate our responsibility of defense. With nearly 400 million guns and a trillion rounds of ammo in private hands, if we were the problem, believe me, they would know it. Defend our Second Amendment
Pedro Nevaja, Glenwood Springs