Don’t weaken N.Y.’s gun laws

Brooklyn: With Congress home for August recess, the gun lobby and some members are preparing to push for concealed carry reciprocity (CCR) legislation, which would force states like New York with strong concealed carry permit rules to accept the concealed carry rules of every other state. New York has some of the strongest gun laws around; however, it hasn’t stopped guns from crossing our borders, and CCR will simply allow more guns in from states with weaker laws. Already, 90% of the crime guns recovered at city crime scenes came from outside the state. I know all too well the heartache which comes when a gun gets into the wrong hands. My nephew, Pierre-Paul, was shot and killed on Nov. 11, 2008. These guns are killing our neighbors and police officers.

CCR will let more illegal guns into our community already inundated. CCR will give criminals easier access to guns. The law will not make our communities safe; it will make them more dangerous. New Yorkers should do whatever they can to stop CCR. Marie Delus Bronx: Re your Aug. 1 editorial “An American Hero”: God bless James McCloughan and my heartfelt thanks goes to him! It makes me think of my brother-inlaw, PFC Rudolph Simeone, who was killed in action in Korea. He made the supreme sacrifice, and they never found Rudy’s body. Our family is still empty despite all of the years. I made it back and I continue to feel guilty. I’m 86 years old now, and there’s a “Hail Mary” for Rudy every night before I sleep. Thanks again, Rudy, and God’s peace be with you. Sunnyside: I can understand the distress that Voicer Joseph Gross feels about President Trump giving a medal to a Vietnam War hero, especially after he was so disrespectful to Sen. John McCain and other POWs. But wasn’t it also distressing when voters rejected McCain’s bid to become President in 2008? It was also dismaying when President George H.W. Bush (a World War II hero) lost his bid for reelection in 1992, and when Sen. Robert Dole (another World War II hero) lost his bid for President in 1996. It looks as if Trump isn’t the only one to fail to appreciate the contribution of war heroes. Brooklyn: Re Nicole Thomas’ Op-Ed “Don’t force a dud teacher on my kid” (Aug. 2): Thomas is either unaware of or willfully ignoring the facts about forced placements of teachers from the Absent Teacher Reserve pool. ATRs are all teachers whose salaries are near the top of the scale because of their long experience. I have never met a young teacher in the ATR pool. Most of the ATRs I have met can teach circles around many current, younger teachers, and research shows that, other factors being equal, experienced teachers are more effective. However, the Department of Education, which doesn’t want to pay our salaries, has vilified experienced teachers who are in the ATR pool due to school closings or reorganizations. Principals who don’t want to pay our salaries often give us unsatisfactory ratings to force us out. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg changed the school funding formula for their teaching staff so that hiring experienced teachers became a liability. Thomas’ child would probably be lucky to get a former ATR as a teacher. The real problem is that we are being foisted onto schools where we are not wanted without our consent, to work for principals who, in many cases, want us to fail and who create or exacerbate the conditions that make their schools hard to staff. Wantagh, L.I.: What a joke that New Yorker liberals, along with the Daily News, bash President Trump every day, yet they voted for and support Mayor de Bozo, who happens to be the most corrupt, inept mayor since Tammany Hall. Manhattan: I’ve been a big fan of Cynthia Nixon ever since she played Miranda Hobbes on “Sex and the City.” But I hardly think that playing a lawyer on TV qualifies her to act in the role of governor of New York. Maybe she should go out and get some real experience working in government first before running for public office. Vancouver, B.C.: The conviction of Martin Shkreli is a sweet celebration of moral justice. It is hoped this arrogant man will get hammered with at least 13 years of jail time; the government should seize his bank accounts and assets. We need to purge society of folks like these and hold them accountable to the law for preying on the vulnerable, innocent and poor. If it was in Canada, he’d probably get five years, whereas the U.S.A. is tougher, like they mercilessly deserve. Good for the prosecution team, and the victorious outcome. Wipe the smug look off his face, and let the lawsuits fly over his assets. Manhattan: Citing First Amendment concerns and the presence of a large number of very vocal boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) supporters at her town hall appearances, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has dropped her sponsorship from a bill to combat the highly vociferous and sometimes physical acts BDS proponents use against Israel, not to mention the implied anti-Semitism. Contrary to the overwhelming majority in the Senate, the New York senator has thrown her support to BDS and their destructive actions. Hopefully her electorate will remember when she is up for election again next year. Bronx: I hope dumb and dumber, Reps. Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi, get reelected. They provide comic relief, and all for free. And let us not forget the biggest clown of all three, Sunday Schumer. Bronx: Some politicians and volunteers recently took the subways questioning transit riders on whatever gripes they have about the train. I wasn’t asked, but I’m sure giving mine: During the morning, day or night, many mentally ill folks travel on the subway harassing riders, and there’s never a police officer traveling with us. I see numerous officers standing near the turnstile or on the platform, but are there any officers entering the train walking through each car making sure everything is OK? It seems to me no officer wants to. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the NYPD profusely, but I mean, hey, a man or woman in blue will give the public unending confidence while deterring underground criminals. Fuhgeddaboutit. Brooklyn: Re “Bus squad is farebeaten at own game” (Aug. 1): Fining bus fare-beaters is just another way to waste money and punish poor people. If a person can’t afford to pay the fare, why would they be able to pay $100 fines? My husband and I travel by B15 to Woodhull Hospital every week for the past two years. My husband is disabled and carries more than one MetroCard in his wallet. He got on the bus for the return trip home, put in the card and sat down. A man came over and removed him from the bus saying that he didn’t pay his fare. He didn’t want to hear about my husband having other MetroCards. He was given a ticket. It is the bus driver’s job to say “You didn’t pay your fare” or “There is GETTY no money on the card.” The driver did nothing. These fines are wrong. Even if I had the money, I would not pay it. Why should they always be allowed to get away with robbery? Lincoln Park, N.J.: The White House is furious about the leaks to the press. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he is going to find and punish the leakers. How hard can it be? There can only be a fixed number of people who have this information. Eliminate those who it cannot be — anyone named Trump or Kushner. Does it really have to become a federal case to find out who it is when there are only a few possibilities? Brooklyn: New owners have put radio station WMTR-AM back on the internet at WMTRAM.com. Now the whole New York metro area can get clean feeds of golden oldies and especially Alan David Stein’s “Doo Wop Drive” from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday nights. Bronx: I don’t think marijuana should be illegal. I also don’t think it should be depicted so blatantly in “Between the Lines” on the comics page (Aug. 4). It sends the wrong message to your youngest readers. I am a small-government libertarian who wants drugs decriminalized. I do not want them condoned in the funnies.