Hijacking the background check

Brooklyn: Thank you for bringing attention to concealed carry reciprocity, the NRA’s top legislative priority (“Lead for brains,” editorial, Dec. 3). The situation is even worse than you describe. The gun lobby’s friends in Congress have now attached reciprocity to the Fix NICS Act, a bipartisan proposal to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The Fix NICS Act would give incentives to federal agencies and states to improve their reporting of records and hold them accountable if they don’t. The House Judiciary Committee passed the Fix NICS Act with a bipartisan majority, and the Senate version has already earned enough bipartisan support to overcome a filibuster in the Senate.

Now, knowing that legislators are facing the best chance we’ve had in years of passing common-sense gun safety legislation, House Republicans have decided to hijack the Fix NICS Act in order to force passage of concealed carry reciprocity. We must not allow the gun lobby’s extremist agenda to be snuck into law this way. Call your representatives and tell them to vote no on concealed carry reciprocity!

Alyssa Postman Putzel, volunteer Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

The fairest armory plan

Manhattan: Re “A Legal Wrecking Ball” (editorial, Dec. 4): It’s quite clear what our lawsuit seeks to secure: a Bedford-Union Armory plan that truly works for Crown Heights residents, and an overhaul to the city’s flawed tenant displacement formula that has been used unchecked for decades. Make no mistake, ignoring the genuine plights faced by rent-regulated tenants in land use decisions has spurred gentrification and contributed to our sprawling homelessness crises. As in any analysis, in order to make an informed decision, all relevant factors must be considered. The city’s current tenant displacement method is devoid of these basics, and our clients bear those consequences every day. The policy also violates the law because it has never been subjected to public review. The editorial does get one point right, though: If our litigation prevails, it would have an unprecedented impact on real estate projects past, present and future. But as lawyers serving the public interest, this is not a deterrent but rather a goal we strive for to ensure that the system works for all New Yorkers. Judith Goldiner

Jennifer Levy The Legal Aid Society

Grand Old Perverts

Jamaica: Now Republicans stand by sexual harassment and pedophiles. This is not the old Republican Party. They made a deal with the devil. All morals have “Gone With the Wind.” The Democratic Party is a little better they are, at least trying to clean house. Now Republicans are supporting Roy Moore for senator, and Alabama might just vote him in. If Alabama votes him in, that means all women had better watch out, especially for their children, if they visit that state. That state will be known as a pedophile state. Shame on the Republicans! It is bad enough we have a sexual harasser as President. What has happened to the United States? God bless America!

Charlene Black

Shark-infested swamp

New City, N.Y.: It boils my blood when our people in Congress do not answer questions from the press or answer with outright lies. They do not have the right to do this. They forget that they work for us — the people. It’s so obvious they are disrespecting us and playing their own games with government resources for their own personal enrichment. And it’s scary. Although I vote, I feel so helpless. My voice is a mere whisper compared to corporations and the rich. Something is deeply wrong. We’re being fed to the sharks, and I don’t think there’s much we can do about it. Help! Christine Ierardi

Hope on the HIV horizon

Bronx: As a longtime HIV prevention service provider, it is very encouraging to see HIV diagnoses in NYC reach an all-time low. In this moment of celebrating the amazing strides we’ve made, I can’t help but feel disappointment that we are still missing the mark when it comes to women. The data show an increase in HIV infections among women since 2015, with black and Latina women making up more than 90% of those cases. We still have a lot of work to do! Sustained commitment and investment is required if we are to bend the curve among women and decrease rates across all demographics. We must do a better job of ensuring women know that PrEP — our newest and most powerful prevention tool — is an effective option for them. PrEP has historically been marketed to cisgender men who have sex with men. There is still much to discover about how to make PrEP accessible to women and provided in a way that is responsive to their needs, which may include making PrEP available within the context of other services that address social determinants of health such as access to other health care services, housing and employment. We must not leave women out of the conversation about HIV and PrEP!

Marcella J. Tillett

Following orders

Holliswood: Voicer Michael S. Wilbekin is spreading a false narrative regarding the death of Philando Castile at the hands of a police officer in Minnesota when he writes that Castile followed all directions given by the officer. While Castile verbally volunteered to the officer that he had a firearm, he also disregarded the officer’s command not to reach for it, an action that led to his demise. Those are the facts that were brought out at trial leading to the officer’s acquittal.

Gregory W. Chupa

Healthy minds and bodies

Brooklyn: I am an English as a new language teacher at PS/IS 206 in Sheepshead Bay. My students are sixth-to-eighth-graders from China, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Ecuador and other countries. Tuesday, we took a trip to the gym Flatbush CrossFit on Utica Ave. My students exercised and had fun all while improving their English language skills. We are doing this because I really believe that a great deal of learning happens outside the classroom. I want my students to have rich opportunities to use their English language skills. I am also very passionate about health and fitness for young children. As an overweight child myself, I know the value of teaching these things to children. While exercise is beneficial physically, it can also be a great way to boost confidence in these preteens.

Nancy Nagar

Giant mistake

West Sayville, L.I.: Dear Ben McAdoo: So, how did that decision go for you about sitting Eli Manning and starting Geno Smith? Oh, never mind. Maybe next week you could sign and start Tim Tebow — after you start looking for a job? Maureen Fazio

What a knee means

Glendale: Voicer Ronald K. Samuel’s assertion that taking a knee clearly sends the message that it supposedly intends misses the point. It is a grossly unpatriotic thing to do. The flag doesn’t represent the small percentage of police officers who are bad. It represents everything America is all about. The narcissistic NFL athletes are abysmally ignorant. The same applies to all those who like what they’re doing.

Peter Richards

D.I.Y. waffling

AL BEHRMAN/AP Brooklyn: Hope the Waffle House employee doesn’t get fired for this and the manager makes an exception (“Waffle House customer makes own meal while employee sleeps,” Dec. 2). If he does get fired, I hope the DMV down there asks this wanna-be Waffle House chef why he was driving inebriated (his words) since he was the only customer, and you can’t exactly take trains anywhere down in South Carolina. Amaiya Williams

A bridge by any other name

Queens Village: Would anyone have a problem calling the Tappan Zee Bridge the Veterans Memorial Bridge? Just think of the annual events that could take place on the VMB. Bernard Beaver

Farewell to a friend

Bangalore, India: I knew Rohina Bhandari back in the late ’80s and early ’90s (“Tragedy,” Dec. 3). She also lived two minutes away from my home growing up. A lovely, vivacious girl, she visited my office several times when she was a sales rep at the ITC Windsor Manor Hotel. I lost touch with her after she headed off overseas to pursue higher studies. I’m truly shocked and horrified to hear of her untimely death. Rest in peace, dear Rohina. May you fly on wings of angels. Mavis Smith