Pat McCrory for Senate? His lack of understanding about US law scares me.

Pat McCrory

Regarding “McCrory announces bid for US Senate seat in 2022,” (April 15):

It’s pretty scary to think of Pat McCrory sitting in the U.S. Senate.

This is the guy who told WFAE a few years ago, “In fact, I disagree with laws in the criminal justice books about what people are thinking will determine their sentence. It’s the crime that made a difference. Not what they were thinking when they committed the crime.”

A person who doesn’t know that literally all the “laws in the criminal justice books” include mental intention (mens rea) ought not be writing laws.

Nicholas Holt, Charlotte

Funding schools

The writer is an retired N.C. principal.

The N.C. Constitution states that all students are entitled to a “sound basic education.” The N.C. Supreme Court has twice held that public schools were not adequately funded based on that requirement.

Other than public safety, I can think of no other governmental obligation as important as a good education for our children. In 2005 the N.C. Education Lottery was created, and last week a group of senators proposed a bill that would legalize sports gambling to fund schools. I believe we should provide our students with the very best education possible, but tying financial support for great schools to gambling says a lot about misplaced values.

Scott Padgett, Concord

Afghanistan

Many Republicans and a few Democrats have inveighed against President Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. However, the U.S. accomplished its objective in the first six months, but we’re still there after almost 20 years. The U.S. needs to get out as soon as possible and leave the country to the Afghans. The Taliban was not the original target. I’m truly sorry for what may happen next in the country, but that is not our responsibility.

Dewey P. Rochester, Charlotte

Packing the court

As Republicans and Democrats go to war over the expansion of the Supreme Court justices from nine to 13, perhaps an even more important issue is tenure for the justices. No one, absolutely no one, should be appointed to a “lifetime” position in government, especially Supreme Court justices and federal judges. A single, eight-year term should be the maximum. If two, four-year terms are the maximum for the president, then the same should apply to every elected official.

Ed Carlson, Charlotte

Hate crimes

Recent widespread coverage of hate crimes against Asian Americans has turned the daily discrimination into a mainstream conversation.

Recognizing the dangers facing so many of our neighbors, several of my N.C. General Assembly colleagues and I introduced The Hate Crime Prevention Act. Many of the ideas in this bill are not new, but this time there is a new component: restorative justice.

If the victim of a hate crime agrees, offenders would be given an opportunity to own up to their acts and undergo remediation. Hate is a terrible legacy, both for the victims of hate crimes and those who harbor it.

This aspect of the law moves us past punishment toward deeper understanding of inherited bigotry, systemic biases, and puts a piece of healing on the record.

Rep. Nasif Majeed, Raleigh

Climate change

Regarding “Grim view of global future offered in intelligence report,” (April 8):

The first awareness of a worldwide climate crisis 30 years ago came with “An Inconvenient Truth” and later when 11,000 scientists warned us of untold suffering caused by climate change.

Like many people, I have suppressed awareness of this problem and been distracted by wasteful consumption. But when I see climate change refugees like the desperate families fleeing Honduras or see kangaroos burning in Australian fires, I can’t deny this global reality.

As a school counselor I’ve seen all sorts of child abuse, but inaction on this issue will be the worst collective child abuse of all time. We can reverse our poor stewardship of this planet only if we act now.

Debbie Medves, Waxhaw