Flake crossed line with gun-check 'no' vote

(PNI) Since 1954, eight years before Sen. Jeff Flake was born, I have been a registered and loyal Arizona Republican. His "no" vote Wednesday on the background-check bill pushed me over the edge. I quit.

Is he so in bed with the NRA that he can ignore what 90 percent of this country's citizens, including many gun owners, really want?

Patricia Maisch yelled from the Senate gallery Wednesday, "Shame on you!" Her actions got her removed from the gallery. Flake's no vote got me removed from the Republican Party voting rolls.

Shame on you, Jeff Flake, on both accounts!

--Bill Adler, Scottsdale

Flake got it right in vote

Your editorial about the gun bill was interesting ("Senators take cowardly exit," Opinions, Thursday).

You got it backward. Jeff Flake is the Arizona senator you should be praising, not Sen. John McCain.

--Al Moore, Peoria

Voters' wishes ignored

NRA money bought the "no" vote for any attempt at reasonable change in American gun laws, just as they have bought Congress. Is this the will of the people these politicians supposedly represent? I sure didn't feel represented Wednesday.

--Mary Ann Bashaw,

Phoenix

Our rights are absolute

Regarding "Gun rights not absolute" (Opinions, Tuesday):

It seems to me that the right to free speech, the right to vote and the rights to assemble and freely associate are absolute!

The only rights that the socialist-leaning left have problems with are the freedom of religion (it's not freedom from religion), and the right to bear arms. They continually chip away at the right to express religious beliefs in school and the right of Americans to possess any gun he can afford!

Let me answer the letter writer's haughty and self-righteous questions about the "need" for assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

I need to fulfill my desire to shoot them! They are fun to handle, fun to shoot, and it's rewarding to improve my marksmanship and proficiency in handling such small-caliber rifles.

Also, there are Americans today living in areas where owning an assault rifle with a 15-round magazine still leaves them outgunned by the gangsters who threaten their families and neighborhoods.

Why does anyone "need" a package of 18 eggs, when a dozen should be plenty?

Who decides? You or some wimpy senators -- or Barack Obama? I say the issue was decided over 200 years ago.

--Rod Hartman, Phoenix

Congress lacks courage

Note to Congress: It doesn't take any courage to do nothing.

--D. Richardson, Phoenix

We need a day of prayer

If we have learned anything from the recent bombing in Boston, it is the fact that we are incapable of stopping this worldwide madness by ourselves.

Our armies can't do it; our president can't do it; our legislators can't do it; and we as individuals can't do it. This is a fact that has been proved over and over.

It is time that we humble ourselves and call upon our God, admitting that we are nothing by ourselves. I don't care who you call God. I don't care what church you may go to, or if you even go, but I do care that you call upon your divine one for help. It is our only hope.

I would ask that we petition our president to call for a 24-hour day of prayer during which all churches would be left open for all to enter for prayer.

I am not asking for a national religion to be established, but I am asking for a concerted effort by all God-fearing Americans to come together in an intercessory day of prayer so God will hear our united voices.

I will pray to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; you pray to yours.

--William Duff, Mesa

No trust in 'reform'

If you watch long enough, a TV screen can give you a pretty big picture.

In the past decade, I'm sure that more than a thousand newscasts have shown illegal immigrants running across the desert into the U.S. And probably more than a thousand newscasts have shown presidents, governors, senators, congressmen and homeland-security chiefs posing on the desert assuring us that the border has never been more secure.

The number of illegal immigrants making it into the U.S. through the "most secure border ever" is around 12million, earning our leadership the All-Time Least Truthful Award.

Now, led by the well-named "Gang of Eight," the leaders are selling relaxed immigration laws for all the illegal immigrants they allowed in. The first priority named in their sales pitch is securing the border. And this time, they really mean it.

For obvious reasons, there is little trust in them or what they are selling. If immigration reform is defeated, it will be a well-deserved loss.

--Nolan Laughlin,

Flagstaff

Goldwater lawsuit unfair

The Goldwater Institute claims that Gilbert's Freestone Recreation Center is unfairly competing with "private health clubs" in the city ("Goldwater group wants Gilbert to shut its popular rec center," Republic, Wednesday).

The center has been operating successfully in Gilbert since 2002, but now all of a sudden, a "local gym owner" seems to have a problem with its operation.

Goldwater's lead attorney on the case, Taylor Earl, refuses to disclose this "local gym owner," while simultaneously threatening Gilbert with a very public and very bloody lawsuit if they do not cave to their demands.

If you find issue with a beloved community center, have the courage to address the residents of Gilbert directly, rather than scoot nasty letters under the doors of the Town Council.

Reveal the source of this complaint, because otherwise, I find it safe to assume this "local gym owner" is nothing more than a stand-in for national megagyms that can't stand the thought of fair competition.

--Austen Jarboe,

Cave Creek

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