Letters on NRA, gun control, Kentucky clerk, bicyclist death, Iran

NRA is making Americans safer

Columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. compared the National Rifle Association to extremist gangs (“What gun deaths aren’t bearable?” Sept. 7 Opinion). Evidently Pitts does not realize the true mission of the NRA.

The NRA promotes the shooting sports and teaches gun safety throughout most communities in America. As a member of the NRA, I have met doctors, dentists, lawyers and engineers within the NRA fraternity.

The mistake many anti-gun people make is thinking the NRA is composed of zealous gun nuts. Many NRA members are among the 1 percent who took the oath to protect and preserve the U.S. Constitution, which placed their lives in danger for several years in the military serving their nation.

As Donald Trump stated, we do not have a gun problem but we do have a mental health problem. Because the federal government is in charge of background checks, how do we proceed forward without infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens in owning firearms for self-protection and the shooting sports? I hope we proceed forward using common sense and honoring the U.S. Constitution.

I hope Pitts apologizes to the millions who believe their support for the NRA makes Americans safer when handling firearms.

Open season

Columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. spoke the truth about the abysmal state of gun control in America (“What gun deaths aren’t bearable?” Sept. 7 Opinion).

I retired from teaching at a local community college in 2002. After the Legislature enacted the bill that will allow people to carry guns on college campuses, I’m relieved that I don’t have to be in a classroom. I would not care to be in the room with an armed student who just earned an F on his poorly written essay.

Guns in the hands of people kill people. Arming teachers, students and other school personnel will only result in more deaths. How would police officers know who the good guys are when everyone is armed and firing? If I were a police officer, I would hesitate to enter a scene in which there is the potential for everyone to be shooting.

When Kansans may carry a gun without having to go through safety training, we are all risk. When disturbed people can get guns off the Internet or at gun shows, and when there is no national registry for background checks, it’s open season on everybody.

Commonsense restrictions result in fewer deaths.

A private matter

I have read and watched recent stories about Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage certificates because same-sex marriage violates her Christian beliefs. I also heard about the flight attendant at ExpressJet who refused to serve alcohol to passengers because it violates her Muslim beliefs.

Well, I am going to apply at McDonald’s, and when customers ask for burgers, I’ll refuse. It is against my Hindu beliefs to serve beef.

How silly all this sounds.

Religion is a set of beliefs. But people cannot and should not push their beliefs on others.

Some of my good friends tell me that this a Christian majority country, and it is OK to pray in school or the public arena. I hope they realize that majorities can change, and then other religions would have the same right. This is the reason the forefathers wanted separation of church and state.

Please keep religion as a private matter.

Make roads safe

The bicycling community is shocked and saddened by the news of our friend who died when he was hit by a car Sept. 4. We especially feel sad for the driver, who apparently was not at fault. The rider was experienced and known as a steady wheel, so we do not understand how this could happen.

As the local coordinator of the Ride of Silence, an annual event to honor and remember people who have been injured or killed while riding public roads, I hope this tragic accident helps raise awareness among our friends and family, both drivers and cyclists, of the importance of sharing the road as well as following the laws of the road. My thoughts go out to both families.

Let’s work together to make our roads as safe as we can.

Seek to destroy

Iran with a nuclear bomb is just like a Palestinian with an explosive vest. They both seek to destroy Israel, even if it means being destroyed themselves.

See for yourself

I wholeheartedly agreed with “Too much election ‘news’ on TV” (Sept. 3 Letters to the Editor), about the dissecting of the campaigns of presidential candidates ad nauseam. If you’d like to view politics unvarnished and learn what really happens in that arena, and hear what the members of Congress who make the laws are saying, there’s a channel for that very thing. Actually, there are three. The local Cox cable channels are numbered 279, 280 and 281.

Seeing and hearing for yourself, before any “news” channel’s biased broadcasts, will provide a context and perspective to help form your opinion. It’s not offered anywhere else, either in print or on the Internet.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Letters on NRA, gun control, Kentucky clerk, bicyclist death, Iran."