Letters: AR- 15s don't belong in civilian hands
AR- 15s don't belong in civilian hands
If anyone still thinks that all you need to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, I suggest you view the video of law enforcement's response to the Uvalde, Texas school massacre. When I was stationed at Fort Dix in the U.S. Army some 50 years ago, I was trained to be proficient with the Colt M-16 rifle — the precursor of the AR-15 rifle.
Make no mistake. The AR-15 was designed to be a weapon of war. Even a single shot does catastrophic damage to the human body. It does not belong in the hands of civilians. The lack of action demonstrated by law enforcement in Uvalde will forever be a stain on their souls.
Stuart J. Vogel, Lake Worth
More: Florida's senators fail us by opposing bipartisan gun safety bill
No band of brothers in Uvalde
I would not hesitate to go into battle with 50 of my Marine Corp brothers but I would never want to go into battle with the 367 police/lawmen who responded to the Uvalde school shooter.
Robert Carpenter, Tequesta
Jan. 6 hearings anything but a 'dead horse'
I take issue with Gov. DeSantis’ characterization of the Jan. 6 hearings as, “beating this dead horse.” The “horse” is not dead, nor are the hearings out of date. Their current and ongoing relevance could not be more urgent.
DeSantis’ criticism undermines confidence in government and sows even more division in our already bitterly divided nation. Compelling proof of the relevance of the hearings is established by the fact that 2020 election deniers are running for secretaries of state across the country — campaigning to oversee elections while denying the last one. Of course, I and other Floridians care about inflation and other issues. But DeSantis intentionally and treacherously misspeaks when he proclaims that most Floridians aren’t concerned about the events of Jan. 6. We care a great deal.
Maxine Derkatch, Boynton Beach
Mentally ill get bad rap with gun violence
Perhaps the writer of the letter published on July 9 is still living in the previous century when it was believed mentally ill people are dangerous and commit more violent crimes than people without mental illness. The exact opposite has been known to be true for decades. The vast majority of people with mental illness are not violent. The media's headlines are partially responsible for the perpetration of the myth of mental illness and violence. Headlines don't say, "Non-mentally ill man shoots woman." In the unusual event when a mentally ill person does commit a gun crime, the headline reads "Mentally ill man shoots woman." When we keep seeing those words together, the association is falsely maintained.
Myles Cooley, Licensed, Board Certified Psychologist, Palm Beach Gardens
Repeal of Roe precursor of radical laws
The troubling repeal of Roe v. Wade is a test, showing that we have failed to protect individual rights from the dictates of one religious point of view. Our democracy is designed to protect civil rights from the dictates of any one religion or group. The repeal of Roe opens the door for all kinds of legislation that imposes the views of one radical sect on everyone else.
Rose Berliner, Boynton Beach
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Keep AR-15s and other weapons of war out of civilian hands
