We should treat guns like driver's licenses | Letters to the Editor
I know the issue of gun control is a sensitive one. Our children are sensitive as well. It is hard for me to hear when my 10-year-old granddaughter tells me about lockdown drills and active shooter practice. It seems quite a lot for a child to have to consider, especially when there are things that could be done.
I teach driver's education. Why can’t we treat guns like we do a license? You must have training, register and get insurance. You can bet insurance companies would do good background checks if they had to pay for the damage. Not that you can pay for the loss of a child or adult, but victims shouldn’t suffer from the loss and then have to put up a GoFundMe page to pay for hospital bills or funerals. Guns and cars are both capable of irreversible damage. Shouldn’t we treat them the same?
And I know the next thing seems unfathomable, but if pictures of the victims were published (with permission?) and people actually saw with their own eyes the reality of a school shooting, they might change their minds about buying a weapon meant for war.
We are so removed from the reality of gun violence against us that when a school or mass shooting happens, we thank God it wasn’t us or our child and go on with our day because it feels like nothing will stop it.
Debra Urben
Warren
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Superbowl parade reflects our values as Americans
Because gun violence has been purposely normalized, kids can't even go to a football parade. As Americans, we have made a conscious decision to live in a country where access to guns is more important than the lives of family members.
Bennie Hayden
Detroit
Belle Isle used to be a place that welcomed Canadians
With the takeover of Belle Isle from Detroit by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, a short occasional (maybe a couple times a year) Sunday drive through Belle Isle is no longer an inexpensive proposition. (Partnerships, alliances changed Detroit's iconic Belle Isle Park," Detroit Free Press, Feb. 13.)
Cost $11 one day or $40 one year. A bit steep for a ½ hour.
We stopped going.
James Ford
Windsor, Ontario
Voting uncommitted means rejection of U.S. foreign policy in Gaza
Rather than turning away from the presidential election because of our anger against President Joe Biden’s support for the Israeli destruction of Gaza, we are participating actively ― and strategically ― in the democratic process.
Voting uncommitted is to demand that Biden listen to Michigan residents and reject Israel’s war against the people of Gaza and instead genuinely seek to resolve the underlying conflict. ("Biden campaign chair's meeting with Arab-American leaders scrapped," Detroit Free Press, Jan. 26.)
Voting uncommitted in the primary is a demand that Biden change direction to win Michigan in November.
Ronald and Phyllis Aronson
Huntington Woods
Another view: Biden has lost Arab American voters. So what's the point of 'uncommitted'? | Opinion
Instead of red, I'm voting blue this year
Over the years, I’ve voted for many Republican candidates. However, in the upcoming election, I’m voting for Democrats.
The Republican Party is no longer the party it was when I voted for them.
To me, the current Republican Party would consider candidates too "woke," which just means they would work to serve the people of our country.
If we don’t force change now, our democracy and the Republican Party will die, and your voice will be lost ― maybe forever.
Craig Cumbow
Holt
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan primary: Voting 'uncommitted' demands Biden listen on Gaza
