The 2nd Amendment has been corrupted, and other Tri-City Herald letters | Opinion
2nd Amendment now is taking lives
I am so weary and disheartened by all the mass shootings in this country. This nation is producing disturbed and frightened individuals whose first response is to shoot. Go to the wrong address or drive up the wrong driveway, or if someone hates their life or their classmates or teacher, or the color of your skin, or your religion, then people you love could be killed. If the shooting is carried out by someone with a semi-automatic weapon, then the carnage is much more widespread.
I cannot understand an individual’s attachment to a weapon that either ends or severely maims other citizens. A semi-automatic weapon is a weapon of war. It has no place in civilian life. It also has no place in hunting. That is not sport, that is carnage. The Second Amendment needs to be amended to make these weapons illegal to own, use, sell or transfer. There should be a generous buy-back program, with these weapons melted down.
The Second Amendment has been corrupted. It was initially meant to save lives, not take them with callous disregard of the citizens it was meant to protect.
Amy Small, Richland
GOP to blame for excess deaths
Republicans recently characterized Inslee’s life-preserving COVID mandates as a major reason Democrats are unfit to hold such office. This is consistent to their deadly work at the onset of the pandemic. It also brings out their weakness on substantive issues to run on. Their aspiration to one-party-government is all they have asked voters to support.
Republican office holders acted in solidarity with their leader, the (former) president, to delay vital COVID mitigation measures and did so merely for political gain. Epidemiologists had told us what the deadly consequences would likely be, and they were proven right.
I guestimate that over 100,000 excess deaths lay at the feet of Republican leaders. Much more consequential than our school board asking that masks not be required in schools.
Fox News aggressively spread Republicans’ proven-false claims that our election process was irredeemably invalid. That is a clear step toward fascism.
It once was seen as patriotic to wave a U.S. flag in one’s yard, but today they are mostly flown by those who vainly hope it conceals their support for ending our democracy.
Putting more Democrats into office is crucial to sustain democratic freedoms. Please do your part in every future election.
Ivar Husa, Richland
Time to recognize public employees
May 7-13 was Public Service Recognition Week 2023. Since 1985, the first full week in May has been set aside to recognize the often unseen but the backbones of our country’s federal, state, county, local and tribal governments — our government employees.
This is a great time to reflect on the wide array of work these public servants do to help us each day, and to learn about the wide range of employment opportunities that hopefully will inspire a new generation of public servants. Whether in the air, on land or at sea, there are behind-the-scenes government employees working to keep us safe and make our lives better every day. Then, too, as with our military, there are those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
As a member of the now century-old National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), including its Tri-Cities Chapter 1192, it is inspiring to have members with such diverse federal service. NARFE continues to advocate for the entire federal community through its work on Capitol Hill, across the country or locally through chapters such as in the Tri-Cities.
So, thank you, current and retired public employees! You are appreciated and valued.
Nancy Crosby, Vice President,
NARFE Tri-Cities Chapter 1192
Kennewick