Gun show loophole? No way

5/3/2010

Once again you trot out half-truths, distortions, and lies about a nonexistent problem ("Close the gun loophole," editorial, April 23).

The Columbine killers did not buy any guns at a gun show. A female friend made a straw-man purchase and gave the firearms to the pair. That is illegal.

The Tec-9 was not bought at a gun show, but was obtained from two men who were subsequently convicted of supplying the firearm to the underage boys.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns is the brainchild of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The number of National Rifle Association members who purportedly support expanding background checks is an invention. Knowing that Toledo Mayor Mike Bell has joined this group will make me vote for whoever runs against him.

The motive behind all this gun show loophole nonsense is the elimination of private sales. It will accomplish nothing except to inconvenience law-abiding people and raise the cost of buying a firearm.

Robert Harbaugh

Philmar Drive

There is no gun show loophole. The claim that NRA members and other gun owners support checks at shows is a lie.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns and other anti-gun groups make up these false claims to trick the public.

Don't fall for their bologna. Defend your Second Amendment right. Join the NRA and donate to pro-gun groups.

Michael Sodd

Bond Street

In response to allegations made in the April 21 letter "Dumping animals is always wrong" about Humane Ohio: The trap, neuter, and return (TNR) program does not dump animals.

The "R" in TNR stands for return, not release. Returning vaccinated and spayed cats to the area they came from gradually decreases the numbers of cats roaming free. Hundreds of adoptable kittens and cats are never returned to these neighborhoods.

Cats, wildlife, communities, and local shelters all benefit from this intervention. One study calculated that Toledo taxpayers saved $773,000 through TNR programs compared to the trap and euthanize method.

While bird and wildlife deaths cannot be ignored, free-roaming house cats, human-related destruction, and climate change resulting in habitat loss or degradation also are responsible. Killing one species to protect another is a controversial topic even among conservation groups.

Beginning in the 1970s, spay/neuter campaigns, TNR, and adoption programs have reduced the number of animals euthanized in shelters nationwide from 15-20 million a year to approximately 3-4 million a year.

Lucas County animals and residents reap the benefits of the programs that Humane Ohio and local rescue groups offer.

Nancy Fisher

Riga, Mich.

Arizona's new illegal immigrant law ("Profiling Arizona," editorial, April 28) is no different from the requirement that people show their driver license, registration, and proof of insurance when they are stopped for a traffic violation.

It's the same as showing a birth certificate to get a driver license or Social Security card, or showing an insurance card to see a doctor.

Under federal law, legal immigrants must have their green card at all times and produce it if asked. Arizona's new law is identical to federal law, so why aren't people fussing about that?

Daniel E. Gray

Defiance

Illegal aliens are just unregistered Democrats.

TOM GEIGER

West Lincolnshire Boulevard

If your home is broken into and the culprits are caught in the act, you have two options: Call the police and have them arrested or allow them to stay.

If they stay, you must feed them, allow them to use your doctor, and then pay the bill. Which option will you choose?

The United States is our home. It is being broken into by illegals. If we allow them to stay, giving them welfare and health care, we make breaking and entering legal.

Jim Carpenter

Maumee

How can anyone with even a modest knowledge of American history be surprised by the advent of the Tea Party protest?

Politicians of both major parties treat our Constitution as if it was a rubber document that can be stretched and twisted to fit their political agenda. They, along with their media cronies, go out of their way to denigrate Tea Party patriots who have set out to clean up the mess.

The Tea Party train keeps on rolling, peacefully ignoring the spurious cries of those who underestimate the willpower, courage, and determination of the patriots on board.

It is becoming more evident each day that those pompous politicians who believe they have lifetime jobs will be left standing at the station on Nov. 2, as the Tea Party train moves on by.

Frank E. Miller

Maumee

Shame on you, University of Pittsburgh, you big bullies ("Whitmer runs afoul of Pitt on logo," April 23).

My advice to Whitmer High School is to make a small adjustment to its mascot's image. Painting a neatly trimmed mustache, adding an earring, or putting a hat on its panther would indicate that it is far more sophisticated, smart, cool, good-looking, intelligent, and psychologically well-balanced than the one the University of Pittsburgh's lawyers are defending.

Go Panthers - Whitmer, that is.

Chuck Hage

Sylvania

Here we go again, blaming people for not adjusting their lifestyles and taking their medications ("Half of adults in nation at risk of heart disease," April 27).

Much of the problem is the result of the government's cheap food policy, with price supports for the grains that send blood sugar and insulin levels rising. Food companies see profits in getting us to eat more refined, processed foods made from grains that require lots of salt and other seasonings to make them palatable, even addictive.

Experts who have looked carefully at the research on cholesterol realize it is not a major risk factor for disease. But corporations see money in creating cholesterol phobia.

More than one perceptive doctor has lamented the push to turn healthy people into drug-dependent patients. Smart people are learning to avoid nutrient-depleted processed foods and embrace traditional whole foods.

Until we learn to invest in high-quality real food, health-care costs in this country will continue to escalate.

Kris Johnson

Williston

Not too many years ago, Cleveland endured the ridicule of the world when one of its polluted rivers caught fire.

What is one to think now about America's commitment to reversing pollution as the Gulf of Mexico burns (Gulf oil spill starts oozing ashore; mess could eclipse Exxon Valdez," April 30)?

W. F. Hoffmann

Elmore