Letters

Easily winnable wars

On March 2, 2018, Donald Trump said, "Trade wars are good, and easy to win."

Looks as if the Chinese are taking him to school.

Sad that farmers and consumers are having to pay his tuition.

BOB NELSON

Little Rock

Make America afraid?

We have a governor who seems to think that labeling a mass murder a terrorist act will reduce mass murders by assault weapons. Thus, the potential mass murderer will be deterred by getting a stiffer sentence than what? Suicide? Being killed by law enforcement? Getting the death penalty? Could we have some measure of rationality here?

We have a Congress which can't agree on whether possessors of assault weapons should have background checks. Even clinical psychologists can't agree on what kind of test a person should pass to guarantee they will not mass murder in the future. So we are going to be seeing some first-rate political posturing, which comes down to what? Endless litigation if the utterly useless bills pass, that's what! So we will continue to allow assault weapons to be put in the hands of the mentally ill to be used for mass murder on the basis of one of several interpretations of the Second Amendment, the interpretation of the National Rifle Association.

Is this making America great again? Is making America great done by making Americans fearful of attending their schools, concerts, churches, temples, bars, movies, big-box stores, and places of work and even of walking their streets? If it is, we are already the greatest country on Earth, and we don't need to be greater. I believe there is one solution to this problem, and it is the cheapest solution with the lowest social impact: Possession of assault weapons should be made a felony.

OTTO HENRY ZINKE

Fayetteville

Harris will act on own

In the predictable mad dash of the candidates to politicize the tragic events in Dayton and El Paso, I thought Kamala Harris particularly "distinguished" herself. She boldly asserts that when she becomes president, if Congress does not immediately enact gun-control legislation, she will act on her own.

This is more than the usual Obama-style bypassing of the Constitution for unilateral executive action. It seems she proposes nothing less than the usurpation of a constitutionally protected individual right on the say-so of one person. If you think her gun-grabbing will be taking away the weapons of criminals, guess again. Law-abiding citizens will have their self-defense rights stripped by order of the executive alone. This is the action of a Lenin, a Castro, or a Chavez.

If you do believe the deterioration of our society now justifies stripping Americans of their Second Amendment rights, the Constitution provides the means for that fight. For an executive to usurp that right by fiat is the action of an autocrat, a despot, a dictator, not the president of a free people living under a constitutional government.

I doubt any of the near two dozen other declared candidates of the party of "government uber alles" would be much better, but at least Senator Harris has left us in no doubt of her sincerity when she swears on God's word to uphold the Constitution.

KARL T. KIMBALL

Little Rock

Martin on Epstein

Philip Martin is a gifted writer. I don't think that many would argue that I am wrong about that, especially Mr. Martin. But for those of you still in doubt, please read "Death of a Bond villain."

You will note he begins with a Trump quote, thereby fixing in your mind that Trump knew Jeffrey Epstein, and we all know that can only mean one thing. Now carefully go through the rest of the column; nowhere will you find the name Clinton. Even though we know Epstein was a guest several times in the Clinton White House. We know Bill was a guest on Epstein's "Lolita Express" plane more than 20 times.

That is my proof of Mr. Martin's writing ability: all those words and not a single one mentioned Bill Clinton.

ALLEN ATKINS

Little Rock

Know where to start

I am an avid hunter. I own "semiautomatic" shotguns and a rifle for my hunting passion. I also care for children; I have seen the devastating effects of gun violence: death, paralysis, and permanent psychological harm. In 2016, there were 3,143 firearm-related deaths of children in the U.S., with 60 percent due to homicide. Childhood firearm deaths were second only to automobile accidents (4,074) and almost twice as many children as cancer.

Your editorial "Familiar territory/Of guns, shootings and having no clue" misses the mark. While we still need research, we absolutely know where to start. The six largest national medical associations representing 731,000 physicians have given our legislators a template that will not take a constitutional amendment. These include comprehensive background checks, enhanced research, domestic-violence restrictions, enhanced firearm storage requirements, improved access to mental health, the ability to petition a judge to remove firearms, to counsel families on firearm safety, and to regulate high-capacity weapons that can kill 10 people per minute. A recent study in our journal demonstrates we can decrease childhood deaths by 40 percent by implementing just some of these measures.

I believe the NRA should be exposed for its real agenda: to sell more guns. Our state's newspaper should be more thoughtful in its editorials. The follow-up editorial, "Some little piggies," relating the need to keep assault weapons for feral hog control, was disingenuous. Permits can be issued for wildlife management.

The mortality rate per 100,000 in children from automobile accidents fell from 9.8 in 2007 to 6.1 in 2015. The firearm rate of 5.4 has only decreased to 5.2 per 100,000 since 2007. We need our politicians to act on gun violence. In the meantime, 30 children will die in the Natural State this year from gun violence. Let's stop this!

WHIT HALL

Little Rock

In line for fresh sign

Bill Engvall had a great comedy bit--"Here's your sign." The young man in Missouri that walked into the Walmart wearing full body armor and strapped with guns and ammo needs to get in line for his.

Surely even the NRA would recognize this sends an obvious signal that someone isn't thinking rationally, even if he is exercising his Second Amendment rights. A gun on your person and a chip on your shoulder makes for a very volatile situation.

RUSSELL LEMOND

Little Rock

Editorial on 08/18/2019

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