We need a ban on assault- style weapons
I am a Vietnam veteran ( 196768) who has fired an M- 16 ( a weapon similar to the one used in the Dayton, Ohio, tragedy) and was shot at by AK- 47s ( similar to the weapon used in El Paso, Texas, tragedy). I recently found out that U. S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R- Pa., who has never served in combat, will not support a ban on assault- style weapons because “they are too popular.” Is he still in high school?
Obviously he has never lost a loved one to an assault- style weapon nor has he been shot at by one nor does he even understand the damage it can do to the human body. What is he going to say to the family of the Dayton victim from Washington County? What is he going to say to the families of the Tree of Life victims? That their loved ones were less popular than the gun?
Anyone who was considering voting for him in the next election, please reconsider, as his views and lack of support might lead to someone acquiring an assault- style weapon and committing a mass shooting. LARRY GRUMET
Squirrel Hill
Settling differences
Only in America can you go grocery shopping and throw an assault rifle into the shopping cart for good measure. Add to that the mindset of settling all disputes with physical power, be it an argument with a friend to be solved with a fistfight or the draw of a handgun or disputes with other nations that we bomb into submission or threaten with nuclear destruction.
Forget about negotiating our differences. Our president has withdrawn from numerous international treaties: the Iran nuclear agreement, the Paris climate accord and now the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which restricts nuclear testing. Now we are ever closer to nuclear war.
If we are raised to hit rather than talk about it, and our leaders give the example of preferring military force to diplomacy, should we really be surprised that people with a grudge just shoot it out? EDITH BELL Highland Park
The writer is a member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Accurate portrayal
The July 21 editorial “OneMan Show” describing Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s personality and political modus operandi is a very accurate portrayal of this egocentric, arrogant individual, colloquially characterized by people who have dealt with him in governmental matters as a “control freak.”
I distinctly recall that a major reason for replacing the threemember board of commissioners with a county executive in 1999 was to establish a political structure somewhat akin to that which exists at the state and federal levels, i. e., executive and legislative branches of government.
Creation of an elected, representative County Council was clearly designed to achieve that objective. Regrettably, Mr. Fitzgerald has essentially ignored and effectively suppressed any meaningful input from members of County Council. He is psychologically incapable of reaching out to other elected officials, community leaders and knowledgeable individuals to achieve desirable, meaningful objectives that would benefit the residents of Allegheny County.
One does not have to be a psychiatrist to comprehend the superego personality of Mr. Fitzgerald. In his position as county executive, he believes that he alone will determine all policies, programs and new proposals. It is unfortunate that the members of County Council have opted to play a passive and submissive role. Such a placid posture certainly is not due to overwhelming intellectual capacity, charming personality or brilliant leadership manifested by Mr. Fitzgerald. Anyone familiar with his educational background, gruff nature and level of cerebral acuity realizes that such attributes do not reside within Mr. Fitzgerald.
Let us hope that the courageous comments by two new candidates, Bethany Hallam and Liv Bennett, will result in their election in November and prove to be a catalyst for other council members to emerge from the shadow of an ungracious, egotistical county executive and perform their legislative duties in a responsible, robust, productive fashion. CYRIL H. WECHT, M. D.
Squirrel Hill
Promote access
I want to thank Karen Kane for using her bully pulpit on the UPMC/ Highmark debacle that has taken place over the past few years. Also, I have two suggestions:
The boards of those institutions should get rid of CEOs Jeffrey Romoff and David Holmberg, thereby removing their oversized and blotted egos — which are the real issue in this fiasco — from the equation and get new management teams. Instead, have teams that want to promote access to and quality health care for the residents of Pittsburgh and surrounding counties.
The powers that be ( state or federal) should investigate both UPMC and Highmark’s not- forprofit status. That alone would help the city with properties not on the tax rolls.
DAVID J. CLOVSKY
Mechanicsburg, Pa.