People high on marijuana shouldn't have access to guns | Letters

While I didn't vote "yes" on Ohio Issue 2, I was impressed and informed by the Enquirer's Nov. 9 article "What to except after Ohio legalized marijuana." However, there is another area the article should have addressed to users and that is what to except when attempting to purchase a firearm. The FBI firearm purchase application form specifically asks the applicant if they are a user of marijuana for either recreational or medicinal purposes. A "yes" answer with stop the process immediately. A "no" answer and they have lied, committed a felony and are subject to a fine and/or imprisonment.

Now this might seem severe, but people "high" on marijuana shouldn't have access to a firearm in the first place.

Mike Morrissey, White Oak

Cincinnati, get with it; ban single-use plastic bags

I agree wholeheartedly with Joan Sheehan's Nov. 12 letter to the editor. Cincinnati should join Athens, Ohio and Cuyahoga County and ban single-use plastic bags. About 8% to 10% of our total oil supply goes to making plastic. It is estimated that about 12 million barrels of oil a year are used in making the plastic bags that we use in the U.S. It’s easy to avoid this by bringing our own bags to the store. Let’s get with it and do something easy for the environment.Keith Hanley, Sharonville

A fertilized egg not the same as a human person

Regarding, "Ohio Catholic Dioceses spent $1.7M against Issue 1," (Nov. 12): Don't the Ohio Catholic Dioceses know that calling a fertilized egg a human person is like calling an acorn a tree?

Ed Hoeffer, Golf Manor

Tuberville punishing U.S. soldiers for a political stunt

I remember the people of Alabama very well. Warm and friendly, happy and eager to meet people and talk. I was stationed there for two years during my time in the Army. I returned several more times over the course of my military career. They loved fishing, music, art and, of course, football.

Many veterans retire in Alabama, as there are several military locations where they can take advantage of base benefits such as the commissary or exchange. Between the veterans and the active-duty service members, there are nearly 450,000 − 10% of the state population.

A grave disservice is being done to these individuals and many thousands more, and their families by the conduct of U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. He’s punishing the soldiers of this nation for a political stunt. He’s harming their families, and he’s insulting all current and former military members who risked their lives so that our citizens live in a democracy where people are free to choose their paths and make their own decisions without governmental control.

Sen. Tuberville, are you familiar with the term “Separation of Church and State”? During your breaks from reading plays and watching film, did you ever take notes in civics class, or government or political science? Did you not learn that this country was founded on this very principal, to protect people from the hegemony of one particular religious sect? Are you not familiar with the history of this nation?

Around 50,000 soldiers died fighting for independence from a very sectarian monarchy. And yet you punish their descendants in a long and highly distinguished line of servicemen. For what? Political attention? Media?

You’re a conman. You know nothing of how this nation was founded. You mock 10% of the population of your own state. You pretend to lead. You’re an anchor on this country. You’re illogical and clearly uneducated. \

The Founding Fathers of this nation would not have tolerated you or your views. Well, I highly encourage the active-duty servicemen and women, as well as all the veterans in the state of Alabama to vote you out of office for your stunt. There are many fine people in the state, and far better candidates than you.

Patrick Mitchell, Indian Hill

Churches that campaigned against Issue 1 should lose tax exempt status

Ohio Issue 1 called for abortion rights to be enshrined in Ohio’s constitution. Most churches in the state vehemently opposed the issue publicly and loudly from their pulpits and in the media.

Me being a show off, I predicted that Issue 1 would pass with 58% of the votes. It passed with 57%. Close enough.

My request: Take away the tax exempt status of those churches and religious organizations that violated the law by their involvement in politics.

Jerry Galvin, Mt. Lookout

Understand what God says about abortion

Abortion is the wrongful act of taking an innocent human life. God gives blessings and never makes mistakes. I believe that there should be someone there to educate the women with a better understanding of what the word of God says about the act and the choices they are making. Human life begins at the moment of conception. From the point of view of abortion, a fetus is equivalent to killing an unborn baby. Abortion is one of the most difficult ethical issues today, but we must make a choice and know that God is watching and, most of all, pray before making that choice.

Dolores Settle, Madisonville

Next statewide issue campaign will be to end gerrymandering

Regarding, "Ohio Republicans pledge to push back on abortion," (Nov. 11): Citizens have spoken. The passage of Issues 1 and 2, confirms our broken system of state representatives reflecting the people’s will. Ohio legislators like Matt Huffman and Jason Stephens need to move over and stop their attempts at authoritarian rule. That’s why I plan to participate in the next statewide issue campaign to end gerrymandering, Citizens Not Politicians. Current elected officials on the redistricting committee created maps that didn’t follow the rules they established. They are not above the law. Let’s take that job away from them and their lobbyists. Please join me in supporting citizen-led election maps and sign the Citizens Not Politicians petition.

Jenny Lohman, Springfield Township

Trump running for office on a lie and a threat

Even before we get into election year, two things about Donald Trump are clear: He is running for office on a lie and a threat. The lie is that the 2020 election, which Trump's attorney general called "the most secure," was stolen. That's bad enough. The threat, however, is more ominous. He has begun to claim that because he has been indicted (he claims, erroneously, the indictments are political), he will have, and use, that same power to indict and convict his opponents should he become president. This man, and this threat, are a danger to our democracy. We need to act accordingly.

Madeena Nolan College Hill

Try thoughts and prayers to stop abortions

Regarding, "DeWine rejects GOP efforts to stop Issue 1," (Nov. 11): Ohio Republican legislators have vowed to overturn the will of the voters and keep extreme abortion restrictions in place. They say they are looking at whatever can be done "to save as many lives as possible." Have these hypocrites tried thoughts and prayers, which have served them so well in reducing gun deaths?

John Bunyan, Blue Ash

US must return to principle of equal justice for all

An article in the Nov. 10 Enquirer on the Trump trial in New York actually mentioned some of the facts for once. There was no loss on the part of the banks who lent the Trump organization money or the insurance agents who covered the properties. They all made profits from the transactions.

But it did not stress the key point in the whole farce. When you go to a bank to get a loan on a property, it does not matter what value you say the property is worth, it is the responsibility of the bank to appraise the property. They use this appraisal as the basis for how much they are willing to lend you. Similarly, an insurance company will use their value on the property, because if there was a problem and the property was destroyed they would not want to overpay for replacement.

If you think of car insurance, the insurance company already has a set value for every vehicle. Likewise, a bank can look at the county auditor’s website and see the value they have put on it. What is never mentioned is why would the Trump organization want to over value their insurance and have to pay more insurance charges.

Calling it a fraud trial is appropriate, except that we all need to acknowledge that the fraud is being carried out by the district attorney who ran for election on "getting Trump." It does not matter what party you vote for, or what you think of Trump himself, we all need to get back to equal justice for all Americans.

Stan Shadwell, Pierce Township

Promise of 'never again' should apply to all oppressed people

Regarding, "Jews honoring promise of never again now," (Nov. 12): I was appalled by the article from David Wise, interim CEO of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center. While Wise acknowledges the anguish on both sides, he boldly states that the claim of genocide against Palestinians is "bogus." If the intentional starvation of 2.1 million trapped Palestinians and the killing of over 11,000 civilians is not genocide, I am not sure what is.

Wise also calls the ensuing global protests as just another demonstration of "the age-old intoxication of antisemitism." The fact is these protests are specifically against the Israeli-led massacre of innocent civilians. That is not antisemitism. I stand against antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of racism and hate.

Wise also notes that tragedies like the Holocaust are facilitated by "the silence, approval, or justification by masses of otherwise good people." By labeling this tragedy a "bogus claim," Wise is going down the very path he warns us about. The promise of "never again" should not be only for the Jewish people but for all oppressed human beings in the world.

I have 58 family members currently living in Gaza under horrific shelling and starvation. They have all lost their homes. We have lost contact with them and fear many of them may be dead.

Zeinab Schwen, Symmes Township

Ohio voters have spoken; legislators need to back off abortion

Listen up, Ohio legislators. Ohio voters said yes on Issue 1. You don't have the right to decide that our votes don't count. Back off. We live in a democracy. Sometimes you don't get everything you want. You are showing us the example of authoritarian rule. We are taking notice.

Susan Kemp, Fairfield

Rumpke recycling program moving in wrong direction

Regarding, "Rumpke changing how it collects recycling next month," (Oct. 23): The Sierra Club Miami Group, Past Plastic Cincinnati Coalition and Woman’s City Club of Greater Cincinnati, all stand in opposition to the Hefty Bag Renew Plastic Collection Program. While we strongly support recycling and reuse programs that reduce the mounting accumulation of plastic waste littering our landscapes, clogging our drains, choking our oceans, and endangering human health, we believe that the Hefty Renew Program moves us in the wrong direction.

The program raises equity concerns. Rumpke 30-gallon, orange bags cost customers 50 cents each, excluding economically marginalized folks from participating in the program. It only encourages purchase of more products packaged in plastic. How does this change our culture away from reliance on single-use plastic?

Cincinnati’s Recycling & Reuse Hub, a one-stop drop off location near center city, accepts the same items that Hefty Renew accepts and more. There is no charge for collection. The growing army of volunteers at the Hub demonstrates the capacity of conscientious consumers to make good choices and find equitable solutions to plastic waste.

Lastly, the program would have increased environmental impacts. The Hefty program requires 30-gallon plastic bags whose very manufacture impacts the environment in many ways: shipment in diesel trucks to coal fire plants in Pennsylvania, energy intensive sortation, and remanufacture of product both increase toxic greenhouse gas emissions. Hefty claims for reducing environmental impact is misleading. Its life-cycle analysis fails to include long-haul transport an pre-processing impacts.

Jeanne Nightingale, Sierra Club Miami Group, Past Plastic Cincinnati Coalition, Woman’s City Club of Greater Cincinnati, Price Hill

Overwhelming proof of climate threat must be believed

I appreciate the Nov. 14 article "Experts: 2023 will be hottest on record." This is more overwhelming proof that we’re damaging the climate and ourselves. If we want to avoid more damage, many people will have to change their minds and believe that climate change is a threat. But that’s hard to do, as much of what we’ve been told over the years wasn’t accurate.

Politicians, businesses, talking heads on TV, many of them lied to us, saying that climate change wasn’t real. But crops suffering from too much rain one season and then too little the next never lie. Destroyed houses never lie. Thermometers never lie.

It’s difficult to change our minds, but sometimes the "hard thing" to do is the "right thing" to do. Or at least that’s what my dad told me, and I’ve found he was pretty wise.

Douglas Bell, Kenwood

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: People high on marijuana shouldn't have access to guns | Letters