Youth sending a good message
I must commend our youth and students all across the nation who are actively taking a stand and protesting for stronger gun control. The young people are showing much more courage than most of our elected politicians. Unlike our politicians, they are willing to think for themselves and not be puppets for the National Rifle Association.
Using the slogan, “Guns don’t kill people — people kill people,” they fight against all attempts to pass any form of gun control. Even something as commonsense as stronger background checks. What could be more logical than doing a background check on someone before allowing them to purchase a weapon?
The NRA needs to heed their own slogan, “People kill people.” Yes, people do kill people. That’s why we want to do the background checks on the people before they have a chance to purchase a weapon and use it to kill people. That’s just good, commonsense.
It’s time for our politicians to grow a backbone and start thinking for themselves and realize they are in office to serve the American people and not the NRA.
Loyd Clayton, Hanapepe
Focus on health care to end drug problem
Thanks for the article by Bethany Freudenthal on the problem of the drug war on Kauai (TGI, March 11). It is not Bethany’s fault, but isn’t it a shame that our current culture goes to police and district attorneys as the experts on drug addiction?Everyone loves simple answers to difficult problems. “Just call the cops.” After all, last year Kauai’s police confiscated 100 teaspoons of “black tar heroin.”
I don’t know if anyone thinks that the war on (some) drugs has been effective, but enough of us now realize that what we aredoing isn’t working.
“Take away the drugs and punish the people who sell them” has been a failed policy since the days of alcohol prohibition. Drug overdoses would go to zero, if drugs came in carefully packaged doses with clear directions.
I spent my entire career as a family doctor and as a part time professor of family medicine and I can tell you that the difference been a nice high from an opiate and a fatal breath-stopping death can be less than a quarter teaspoon dose. Drug (including alcohol) addiction is a mental and emotional problem.
The police and courts have no business with these folks unless they commit a crime. It is long past time we, as a society, defund the police, courts and prison system and put the effort toward mental and emotional health care.
Gordon LaBedz, MD, Kekaha
Here is the article by Bethany. ( in case anyone missed it )
If you’re struggling with addiction, there is help available:
• State Department of Health Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division: health.hawaii.gov/substance-abuse/
• Malama Pono Health Services: mphskauai.org/
• The Chow Project (Community Health Outreach Work to Prevent AIDs): chowproject.org/
LaBeds said, “It is long past time we, as a society, defund the police, courts and prison system…”
No one could better reveal the inanity of this writer better than his own words.
Not bad Loyd Clayton. NRA is an organization some never heard of. National rifle association. Their strongest stance, 2nd amendment right. People feel threatened, so the right to bear arms is their stance. In Nevada, 30% of the adult population able to own guns, have guns. And it is legal to buy the guns on the street. Say if the family was walking down to California hotel. And they saw this happening, this is a legal transaction. Last year’s recent shooting at Las Vegas strip Mandalay’s hotel and casino on the strip. This was at a country concert held there. The sniper shot himself. He was a Las Vegas residence. Last year 2017.
Thank you Dr LaBedz for contributing to the view, as a medical professional, that the war on drugs is not the answer. Perhaps we could look to Europe for some answers.
Another day. Statistics say, only 30% of the gun owners in America, but they own almost 100% of the guns made in America. 2017. Estimate 256 million guns in America. Study from Harvard and Northeastern U. Greater than the votes cast in 2016 election. The guns are owned by 30% of the adult population. 94% voters say they support background checks for all gun buyers. 93% ARE republicans.
What does your fame and popularity mayor, all 6-6 tall man of him, intend to do about this gun control topic? His stance on it. He played for UH football in 1979 And hula bowl 1979. UH.
You would rather fight, than shoot a gun. 100% of the mayor’s supporters would rather fight. So fight. Fame and popularity on this topic of gun control. NCAA basketball, Kansas is in the final four.
Election is up in 2018. TV. So I will say Ige, can use this to his advantage. If he would exploit the voters into this line of thought, fame and popularity, Aloha stadium, he just might win the election. Nick Rolovich head coach of UH football in his 3rd season. Side in with Nick on public appearances everywhere.
Free political opinion. And a good one too. David Ige will win if he followed this advice. He is down in the polls though.
Spend it on Nick, and David will win the election. Political news around the state.
The main purpose of the 2nd Amendment is to protect ourselves against a despotic government. Russia lost its democracy. We need to make sure that we don’t lose ours.
For this reason, it is critical that any gun regulation be done at the state level. States are able to regulate guns just fine. There is no need to make gun regulations federal. If the Federal government gets into the business of controlling who gets guns, it will be that much easier for them to take away our freedoms. A state would have a much harder time becoming despotic. So it is much better to let states do the regulating. That is how our system was designed.
I follow your thinking to a point, Mark. But I think that my right to walk around without being intimidated or slaughtered is more important than your right to strut around with a high-powered, high-capacity, semi-automatic, rapid-fire weapon of war — and that applies Wherever I reside in the USA. Some things, such as this, we should be able to agree on as a country.
If we left all such matters of import to the states, some states would still have slavery.
BTW, you have noticed, I hope, that while your friends squealed for Eight Years that “Obama is gonna’ come for your guns,” — it DID NOT happen, and was never intended to happen. (He didn’t establish “Sharia Law,” either.)
Also BTW, I believe that if the majority of voters in any given state would like to secede from the Union, let-them-go! Let them form a new Confederacy, where they can try to have slaves (keeping in mind that this time around it may backfire and the Blacks may be the ones with the whips), marry their cousins, strut around flogging their war weapons … whatever they like.
Maybe if Hawaiians had some guns they wouldn’t be crying today over their lost sovereignty.
They had many guns in 1893; but, others had many more!