Stanton was right to criticize SB 1070 fiasco

(PNI) Regarding "Stanton should explain SB 1070 remark" (Opinions, Saturday):

The letter writer feigns surprise that Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton did not want to be associated with Senate Bill 1070.

The mayor at a recent meeting had asked that event planners not hold that law "against the rest of us," who he pointed out are "normal." The writer asks the mayor to explain "what the hell" he meant by those remarks.

Let me try.

That law was, for the most part, declared unconstitutional by several courts. It damaged the Republican Party's standing with Latino voters.

And it brought shame and ridicule upon the state that the letter writer professes to love so much.

Not wanting to be associated with such a fiasco sounds pretty "normal" to me.

-- Michael Salcido,

Phoenix

Enough handgun blather

Laurie Roberts' column Sunday, "Kristi's suicide a story of gun laws' failure," is another sad example of the media's righteous single-mindedness on this important topic.

So, gun laws, the police, the court system and numerous others are to blame that a severely depressed woman killed herself with a handgun.

Really?

As a father, my heart truly goes out to Kristi's parents. It really does.

That said, this tragic story isn't about a "failure" of gun laws.

Does any rational person doubt for one minute that this person would not have taken her life some other way had she not had a gun?

Maybe we should ban buses because she might have stepped in front of one. Sometimes, just sometimes, people are responsible for their own irrational actions.

Surmising that Kristi would still be with us today if we had no guns around is both naive and blatantly untrue.

Perhaps we wouldn't have obesity in this country if they would just stop manufacturing forks.

If the media really want a reasonable discussion about gun control, stop publishing doggerel like this.

Enough already!

-- Thomas J. Salerno,

Phoenix

No school is totally safe

Regarding "A plan to protect schools" (Opinions, Dec. 31):

The letter writer's suggestions may seem to have some merit -- armed guards, volunteers, classroom doors made of steel, etc. However, I have one question: What happens when the kids go out for recess/lunch and the perpetrator is but a short distance away? It would be like shooting ducks in a pond.

We can do many things and spend a lot of money doing the above. But if the evil wish to do harm, they will succeed. We might make it a bit more difficult, but they will succeed, at least some of them.

If you do away with guns, knives will then be the weapon of choice, along with baseball bats, cars, acid, anthrax in envelopes, etc. Those who are determined to do harm, will.

It's a terrible shame, but that's life, folks, and there's not much more that can be done unless you wish to lock yourselves up in a cave and spend your life scratching for whatever the land provides.

Good luck doing that.

--Barbara Woltz, Surprise

Say prayer for Newtown

So, I am watching the news and see all the stuff people are sending to Newtown, Conn. What happened is beyond sad, but no matter how many gifts you send, it can't replace what they lost.

Maybe we should think of sending those gifts to someone who lost similar things. I think the people in Connecticut would agree. And use your prayers for Newtown.

--Nick Conant, Humboldt

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