Manage Delivery
Citizens don’t need assault weapons
The Colorado massacre was the 27th mass shooting since Columbine. Something needs to be done.
The first thing I suggest would be to take away the availability of some of the tools used in this shooting. The shooter had a high-capacity magazine and tear gas. I can’t think of one reason for the average citizen to need either item. But they are easily obtained through dealers and the Internet.
One thing we know for sure is that the National Rifle Association isn’t going to change its ways. While the people go back to normal everyday life, except for the families and friends of the victims, the NRA will continue to lobby, bribe and badger that one extra senator or state representative to make sure its agenda stays on track.
When will we do something instead of sitting around wringing our hands? I would like to hear some in the pro-gun crowd speak on what their solution is besides OK Corral shoot-outs.
By the way, I am a former NRA-certified instructor and gun owner.
DAVE ZELE
Wichita
Why shocked?
We are shocked, appalled, saddened, surprised. How can that be? All that happened at the movies in Aurora, Colo., is that a man put a perfectly legal gun to use.
Assault rifles are made to kill people – and in this case, it sure worked. How can we continue to be shocked, appalled, saddened and surprised that “this kind of thing” keeps happening when neither we nor our government representatives have the courage or will to stand up and say, “The sole purpose of assault rifles is to kill people, and I’m going to help make them illegal now”?
The big lobbies win again – and innocent people lose.
It’s time for us to make it clear that one time is too many. I am sickened by this particular event and hope we have the courage to take the steps necessary to get assault rifles and huge clips off the streets.
MARSHA EBAUGH
Wichita
Protect ourselves
I have no doubt that there were several citizens in that audience in Aurora who were trained and licensed to carry a handgun. Had this business allowed them to have their weapons, the shooter would have been stopped before his foot hit the fifth step up the aisle of that theater. Many lives might have been saved.
Guns are never going to go away. The criminal will obtain them in any of various ways. So don’t you think that law-abiding people like us should have the means to protect ourselves, our families and other innocent citizens from those who mean us harm?
Handguns in the hands of competent, caring citizens (as most of us are) are the only thing needed to stop those who choose to harm others.
JAYNE NIEMANN
Wichita
Blame movies
While stricter gun-control laws might be part of the answer, the real blame for the Aurora tragedy and others like it belongs to the movie and entertainment industry. Far too many of our young people are becoming addicted to violent fantasy in movies and games. They finally reach the place where they cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality.
NEVA LOU DYCK
North Newton
Forced medication
It is disgracefully hypocritical for a person to defend individual rights regarding religion, medicine, education, politics, gun ownership or free speech and then propose forced medication of an entire city via the only available water supply.
People from both sides have shared research that questions or supports fluoridation. We can hurl peer-reviewed studies at one another for years to come and it won’t get us anywhere. It should not matter, because this is a clear-cut case of one group forcing its will on others.
Since the inception of water fluoridation, many people have fiercely opposed the measure, and we oppose it just as vehemently today as people did back then. This is not a question of what is good for us. If it were, we would pump all of the nutrients that we know are beneficial into the public water supply. No legitimate scientist questions the health benefits of vitamin C, while many question the validity and safety of fluoride. Some individuals must avoid fluoride for personal health reasons such as thyroid disease or hypersensitivity. The health effects on all citizens have not been considered.
Fluoridation violates the rights of individuals. Take care of your own teeth however you see fit, and let me take care of mine.
LIESL WRIGHT
Wichita
More than teeth
Having a mouth full of decayed teeth not only affects how you eat and your self-esteem but can cause damage to the inside of your body as well.
As physicians, we see how inflammation causes stress on our bodies. When inflammation is present for a long time, this can lead to health problems or make existing health problems worse.
Medical science has connected the inflammation that tooth decay causes to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and mouth and throat cancers. Chronic inflammation also can make people’s immune systems weak so they get infections more easily or have trouble fighting them off. Pregnant women with tooth decay are at greater risk of having a premature baby or a baby born underweight.
Avoiding tooth decay not only gives us a better smile but makes our entire body healthier. To avoid tooth decay, you should brush and floss twice a day and see your dentist every six months. But sometimes even that is not enough. Fluoride has been proved to help prevent tooth decay and is medically safe when at the right levels in water. Having fluoride in our community water would make us healthier Wichitans – inside and out.
AMY SEERY
PHIL CHERVEN
SARAH HOUSSAYNI
Wichita
Not equal
Those who failed to read David Brooks’ commentary “America needs to close the opportunity gap” (July 17 Opinion) should dig out the newspaper and take a look. It revealed the problems of division in America and how it affects our children rather than the adults. It noted how inequality of opportunity has affected and will continue to affect the children for decades. For a child, equal opportunity requires more than just the desire to achieve.
MARSHA CALLAWAY
Sedgwick
