Letters for July 14, 2015

Letters for July 14, 2015

Guns are the problem

Unfortunately, Randolph Chong Tim’s solution to the gun issue will solve nothing. Training and education is a good idea but it won’t stop the mass shootings of U.S. citizens by the psychopaths or gun nuts out there who just feel like killing somebody. There is a direct correlation between the number of gun deaths and gun ownership and only by adopting strict gun control laws do we have any hope of lessening the chances of these horrible shootings from happening.

With 89 guns per every 100 residents, the United States owns far more guns per capita than any other nation in the world. It should be no surprise that we also lead the world in firearm violence. As a comparison, Sweden has 32 guns per capita, Canada 31, New Zealand 23, Australia 15, and the UK 7. In a recent year, firearms were used to murder 37 people in Sweden, 184 in Canada, 5 in New Zealand, 56 in Australia and 73 in the UK. Firearms were used to murder 11,344 people in the U.S.

Since Australia implemented strict gun control laws in 1996 — including a ban on semi-automatic rifles — the risk of an Australian dying by gunshot was cut by 50 percent. Homicides committed with firearms dropped 20 percent, there was a 44 percent decline in the use of firearms in armed robberies and suicide rates using a firearm dropped 48 percent.

In the U.S. an average of eight children are killed with guns every day. In one day we kill more of our children than New Zealand does all its people in a year. So don’t sit there and try to tell me that guns aren’t the problem. Yes, guns are the problem.

Steven McMacken

Veteran, U.S. Navy Submarine Service

Lihue

Stand up for what you believe is right

Mr. White, only an animal lover would understand the importance of having a well-managed humane society, for the animals and the community. The people you see at these protests are all ex-volunteers, ex-employees and people who have been devastated by the killing of their pets.

These people feel their efforts were being misused and their hard work misdirected. Thank your lucky stars there are people who care so deeply they will sacrifice their time to speak up about the mismanagement and concern about the high killing rate. A dozen staff members attended a meeting with the board of directors relating their concerns and two were fired for this “offense.”

Just because you don’t care enough to think about putting the time and effort into making a change for the community, please don’t feel you have the right to criticize those who do. The taxpayers pay for this organization and citizens who care where their money is spent and want results, not lies and excuses.

Get better informed before you sound off. You may want to check into the information the humane society puts out to the public because there is usually more to the story than advertised. The spay/neuter van is one example. Stop by the protests and ask questions if you care about animals in your community.

Sue Scott

Wailua

If I were ‘king’ I’d do the following:

1. Put a five-year moratorium on building multiple dwelling units (especially Hokua Place) in Kappa until the traffic and infrastructure problems have been solved;

2. Enough is enough! If the Coco Palms development is delayed for any reason, cancel it and, instead, create a park and Hawaiian Heritage Center on that site;

3. Incentivise builders/developers to built affordable housing elsewhere on Kauai.

You are the ‘kings’ of our county; you can do it.

Carol A. Curran

Lihue