Questions to answer
Voices letters usually are of writers' experiences, comments, and opinions. Here, I'd like to take a different approach by asking specific questions of specific groups.
For those who are pushing to arm school administrators and teachers: Have you been in the military? If yes, how did your weapons training compare to what is required to obtain the different levels of concealed-carry permits? Have you ever been in a combat firefight where troops accidentally killed or got killed by friendly fire?
For school administrators and teachers: If you confront a "bad guy," do you think you can do a "Matt Dillon," fire one kill shot, and it's over? Can you look a man in the eye and blow his face off? Your live-fire training was firing at stationary targets, so do you think you can hit a moving target? What happens to those bullets that miss the target? Who is on the other side of the wall they go through? What happens when that missed bullet fragments? How many people will those fragments kill or injure?
For school boards and superintendents: Will your school medical insurance pay for the psychological treatment your staff and teachers will need after they accidentally kill a student or co-worker?
GEORGE W. GATLIFF
Little Rock
Don't want to control
In her letter published July 12, Lee Jones parrots the same old tired mantras of the pro-abortionist crowd, which I believe include some false assumptions. Miss Jones, no one on the right has any desire to control women's bodies. The old chant of "my body, my choice" ignores the most important fact: Your body ends at the placenta. Beyond that, it's someone else's body and someone else's life. Taking that life is wrong. Roe v. Wade was a bad decision, and abortion is murder.
DOUG MORRIS
Austin
Resolve immigration
Both the Republicans and the Democrats in Congress need to get together and solve the immigration problem. Nobody in either party surely supports our current policies. However, illegal immigration is still illegal immigration.
Let's stop playing politics with it and do something. Look at what happened to the so-called "Dreamers." Once they no longer had any political value, they were dropped like a hot rock.
JOE WHALEN
North Little Rock
Listen to dissenters
I've been captivated by news coverage of the Thai soccer team that was trapped in a dark cave under unimaginable circumstances. They were discovered by two English divers and eventually saved by Thai rescuers and international helpers. I join the world and celebrate the 13 lives that were saved.
Contrast this faith-in-humanity-restored story with the July 10 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article, "School-shooting panel skipping input from political groups," where I was dismayed to learn the panel, led by chair Sen. Missy Irvin, disallowed the state's chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to speak. I join other Arkansans and question the actions of the panel whose job is to develop suggestions to help save lives.
I feel certain the panel sincerely wants to improve student safety, but it's difficult to understand how limiting ideas helps in developing the best solutions. Consider the Thai rescue; while developing the rescue plan the Thai military allowed some experts to share that it was potentially too risky to dive the children out. Thai officials proceeded with a dive rescue anyway but allowed the dissenting opinion to be heard.
In our democracy where freedom of speech and civic participation are essential, it seems inappropriate to not listen to all stakeholders. I applaud Sen. Alan Clark, who said the group should have presented even though he likely would have disagreed. I also agree with Sen. Joyce Elliott, who shared concern that the committee reached its conclusions before hearing from all sides. Exactly!
The panel members should not be afraid to listen to dissenting views. It will likely improve their recommendations. If we are at the point where certain government leaders are unwilling to consider all sides then maybe it's time to elect new officials that will at least listen.
LESLIE BIAGIONI
Little Rock
Love our fellow man
Although I grew up and spent much of my adult life in Arkansas, I left at age 50 to attend seminary in Austin, Texas, was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1989, and spent almost 20 years pastoring in churches in Texas. My husband and I chose to return to Arkansas in 2008 after I retired. We picked Arkansas over Texas because at that time Arkansas seemed to be a progressive Christian state that cared about providing opportunities for a decent life for all its citizens. We moved to Little Rock, and my disillusionment soon began.
In last Sunday's paper, several articles added to that disillusionment, now having grown great enough I feel compelled to write. The first was an article about the horrible conditions of rental units for poor people and the failure of Arkansas legislators to pass in any form the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, even though it has been presented to the Senate or House at least six times since 2005. This act would require landlords to make rental housing habitable. That hardly seems to be asking too much of apartment owners. I applaud Sue Madison, Robbie Wills, Jon Woods, Greg Leding, Warwick Sabin and Laurie Rushing, who have at least tried to get the problem addressed.
John Brummett's column dealt with difficulties many poor people face in trying to fill out the paperwork to allow them to remain on the Arkansas Works health insurance program, to raise awareness of the hurdles facing homeless or transient people, those without Internet access or computer literacy, and so on.
Jesus' second great commandment was to love others as we love ourselves. I fear many of us who consider ourselves Christians ignore that one!
SALLY STOCKLEY JOHNSON
Little Rock
Impressed by project
Congratulations to the Arkansas Department of Transportation and McGeorge Construction Co. for the great job and early completion on the four-lane of the highway between I-30 and Hot Springs. I travel this road at least once a week and was amazed at the speed of construction and the lack of interruption of traffic flow during construction. The entire project was amazing and I am so impressed with all that were involved.
DAVID LEECH
Stuttgart
Editorial on 07/15/2018