LETTERS

— Apocalypse isn’t nigh

No civilian needs an assault weapon. Owners say they might be needed in case of catastrophe-flood, earthquake, hurricane, solar flares, asteroids, global warming, riots, invasion or economic collapse.

Won’t lesser weapons do?

Our president is right to circumvent Congress to make our children safe again. Ibelieve more than half of those killed at Sandy Hook would still be with us if the gunman did not have high capacity magazines.

We can give up some rights for safety. If just one person is saved from an assault rifle, it will be worth it, regardless of the innumerable lives saved by an assault rifle’s defensive use. We should not be forced to pay the cost of armed security in our schools, though we pay for armed security at banks, public buildings, fairs, concerts, sporting events, colleges, etc.

The Second Amendment is not about the right to own the same weapons as our military and police. Put more faith in the government and give up these horrific instruments. The government is here to help us. Look what they’ve done for our health care. No one ever dreamed they would be entitled to so many of our government benefits that are now being provided. Why, the government is almost big enough to provide for all our needs.

Quit fixating on catastrophes like an economic collapse, and do not let your assault weapons keep us from moving forward.

NEIL DEININGER

Little Rock

He’s better candidate

Congressman Mike Ross, please declare for the governor’s race. We need a more responsible candidate than Bill Halter.

As an Arkansawyer independent, I will support you and work on your campaign.

NEALUS WHEELER

Mountain Home

Tune in to fine choice

I can get very emotional about the playing or singing of “America” (“My Country ’Tis of Thee”). My father died a month after I turned 8; and after that, the phrase, “Land where my fathers died,” would bring to the surface my personal grief and loss.

Columnist Dana D. Kelley proposes that “My Country ’Tis of Thee” replace “The Star-Spangled Banner” as a new national anthem for the U.S.A. But Kelley acknowledges that the tune for “America” is the same one that is used in “God Save the King/Queen,” the British national anthem. Doesn’t that rule out that tune for use in a new American national anthem? There would be occasions of confusion if we and the British were using the same tune in our national anthems.

A more viable candidate for a new national anthem might be “America the Beautiful.” It is more singable than “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and its words have greater poetic merit than those of “My Country ’Tis of Thee.”

RICHARD FROTHINGHAM

Little Rock

Only part of the story

In a recent editorial, the author refers to a medical marijuana study that is riddled with flaws and contradictions. The writer points out that the study said 74 percent of teens treated in centers for substance abuse had used someone else’s medical marijuana. What wasn’t said was that some were in the centers in lieu of other punishment, were paid to participate in the study, and that the researchers had no way of knowing if the marijuana actually came from a legal prescription.

The study cites other studies with contradictory results. It says that the causality of the increase in use can’t be determined, and that it cannot show that what happened in Colorado would happen anywhere else. It cannot determine if the subjects would otherwise use marijuana or how it was diverted from the legal patient.

Arkansans for Compassionate Care has taken strides in writing the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act of 2014 to provide safe access to safe medication that works to patients who are suffering. Unlike Colorado’s, the Arkansas law does not allow patients to grow their own; they must purchase it from a dispensary after receiving a recommendation from an Arkansas physician and Health Department certification. This medication should be treated like any other prescription drug and kept out of the reach of others.

Read the stories at www.arcompassion.com about how medical marijuana saved lives, and you may find that this really is a good thing we are doing here.

CHRIS KELL

Little Rock

Dial down hypocrisy

Your editorial “More Dope from Denver” should have been titled “More dopey opinions from Arkansas.” To conclude that medical marijuana is bad, you cite a study that showed teens under treatment for drug abuse smoked medical marijuana they got from someone else.

Authorities claim we are suffering a dangerous trend of young people here in Arkansas abusing prescription medication they steal from their parents. And yet I’ve seen nothing from your editorials suggesting that the solution is to ban any prescribed medication that is being abused, to rip it out of the hands of those who need it because some kids wanted to get high.

If we took a survey of teens here, we would undoubtedly find that a large majority have consumed alcohol bought legally by an adult. Want to go back to Prohibition? And don’t get me started on cigarettes and coffee, all of which can be abused and are substantially less harmful and more addictive than marijuana.

Try being a little less hypocritical in your next pronouncement on what individuals should be consuming for their mental and physical well-being.

TERRY PHILLIPS

Bentonville

Doesn’t mean infinite

The Second Amendment cites the need for a well-regulated, rather than a self-regulated, militia.

Very few processes are self-regulating. Without control rods, a nuclear reactor is a nuclear bomb. We are paying a great price for having let our bloated financial sector regulate itself.

The Second Amendment says that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Yet the right of certain people to bear arms will continue to be denied. Furthermore, an unspecified type or amount of arms is not the same as an unlimited type or amount.

Consequently, legislatures should make laws in the interests of living people, and judges should interpret what is constitutional and what is not.

JOHN R. PIAZZA

Bethel Heights

Editorial, Pages 19 on 02/01/2013

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