Graffiti vandals never deserve the title 'artist'

(PNI) Regarding "Group targets graffiti laws" (Valley & State, Friday):

Thank you for not once in this report calling the graffiti vandals "graffiti artists."

These vandals are nothing more than destroyers of our society.

There is nothing admirable in what they do and should never be honored with a prestigious title, like "artist."

Don't be so afraid of the politically correct gang. Let's get back to calling a spade a spade and you will stop the regression of our society.

-- Jennifer Lanoue, Peoria

Gun insurance isn't good

Regarding "Link firearms, insurance" (Opinions, Thursday):

The idea of requiring liability insurance for gun ownership as we do for auto ownership sounds good on the surface. But there are three very big problems:

1. Only the responsible, law-abiding residents will comply, which leaves the corrupt, secretive and crazies.

2. It provides a complete registry of law-abiding people and a list of the guns they own, from which a corrupt government could come in and seize -- neither of which the law-abiding, sane, reasonable gun owners would agree to.

3. More and more restrictions, registry, background checks, etc., will just make more and more guns drop off the radar.

The problem is not the guns. It is how a very small percentage of people misuse them. You want better humans, more sensitive to these horrors?

Then work on how to bring out the best in people.

My solution? Train everyone on how to respectfully use a gun. Remove the TV shows, movies and video games that glorify "blowing people away" and desensitize those who watch. Bring God back into daily life.

-- Sunie Kendall, Goodyear

Give teachers stun guns

A common-sense approach to school safety would be to train and arm teachers with Tasers.

I can't believe I am the only one who has thought of this. The only reason it isn't being discussed is because of the desire by the left to put more restrictions on gun ownership by continuing to talk about arming teachers with guns.

Most people think arming teachers is a bad idea, and so they lean toward more restrictions on gun ownership by default.

More laws to restrict gun ownership are nothing more than feel-good measures, and common-sense ideas don't enter the debate when it is controlled by the left-wing media.

-- David Talich, Phoenix

Hagel shows intolerance

Regarding "Hagel puts America first" (Opinions, Friday):

The letter writer nicely and unwittingly exemplifies why individuals like Sen. Chuck Hagel should not serve our country as secretary of Defense. "Zionist lobby?" Really?

Hagel has remarked that "the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people."

Any individual espousing such a charged, and might I say, bigoted, opinion such as this has no place representing the United States as Defense secretary. It does not reflect Hagel's commitment to "put America first," it merely gives away his own prejudices. Any such individual would be incapable of objectively mediating America's needs, which include the need to support the Middle East's only true democracy, Israel.

"Jewish lobby and their influence," "Zionist lobby" -- individuals who so freely incorporate such phrases into their language merely reveal their own intolerance.

-- Rachel Waite, Tempe

Cartoon applies to U.S.

Steve Benson's cartoon on Thursday using Abe Lincoln's comment that "a house divided against itself cannot stand" is right on with one exception. It should have included the whole United States, not just the Republican Party.

-- Becky Kolb, Sun Lakes

Phoenix to miss Simplot

I read that Tom Simplot will not be running for re-election to the Phoenix City Council this year. As a business owner in central Phoenix, I can tell you this is a definite loss for our city.

Tom has marked his time on the council by listening to our communities and our businesses and working to make our city a better place to live and work.

I hope whoever decides to run to fill this position takes good notes on what Tom has done.

It has been a giant step forward not just for central Phoenix, but for our city as a whole.

-- Kurt Stickler, Phoenix

Copyright 2012 The Arizona Republic|azcentral.com. All rights reserved.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Posted

View the original article here