YOUR VIEWS
Disinclined to act
To date, President Trump has not implemented the sanctions on Russia overwhelmingly approved by his own Congress. He also has done nothing about the obvious Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The president does not appear to be inclined to act on either very serious matter. Our future elections are in grave danger if nothing is done.
Were President Obama at the helm under identical circumstances, impeachment proceedings by the Republican Congress would have been inaugurated many months ago. At what point will Trump's action or inaction become treason?
Frank Silovsky, Oklahoma City
Taking my business elsewhere
If you impose age limits on the purchase of guns, then that same age limit should be imposed on all future military personnel. Not old enough to purchase a gun, not old enough to purchase alcohol, etc., then not old enough to serve in the military, where guns are necessary. Dick's, Walmart, Kroger, L.L.Bean, Metlife, Hertz, Delta airlines, etc., just severed all ties with me and my money. I am well beyond the age of 21, but I will no longer deal with the above companies or any others that choose to limit our privileges. I hope all NRA members will do the same.
Gerald Sawyer, Del City
A different scenario
I agree with John Fletcher (Your Views, March 5) that armed teachers trying to protect children would face life-or-death decisions in a high-stress situation. The alternative would be for them to cower in the corner and wait to be executed. Is this what Fletcher is advocating?
How about this scenario? An armed retired policeman and soldier volunteering as safety officers drink coffee and chit chat as they guard the only entrance to the school. A gunman approaches and they both take strategic positions as they have been trained. Any children around drop to the floor as they have been instructed. The retired professionals fire several rounds, hitting the gunman. An ambulance is called to collect him.
Stephen Butler, Yukon
The same tired arguments
In his reasoning against allowing qualified school staff to carry weapons, John Fletcher (Your Views, March 5) trots out the same tired arguments that gun ban zealots have been using for years. His solution is to “stop mass killing by banning the sale of semiautomatic weapons to the general public.” In the real world, no matter how many laws, restrictions or outright gun bans are put in place, criminals will always find a way to acquire firearms.
Allowing qualified teachers or other school staff to carry concealed weapons would serve as a deterrent for wouldbe killers the same way it does for gun owners who have concealed carry permits. Not knowing if someone is going to shoot back would make an armed criminal think twice before going on a deadly rampage inside a school. During an attack, there’s no time to wait the five to 10 minutes for police to respond. When it gets right down to it, the only way to have saved the students in Florida, or at least given them a chance for survival, is a good guy with a gun, plain and simple.
Jim Powell, Yukon
Revealing our character
Our country’s budget reflects our nation’s character. The food we share with the hungry, the medicine we offer to the sick, the hand we extend to those trying to climb out of poverty, our country’s answer to the pleading mother running from conflict — all are determined by how we show up to help. We cared for those suffering from HIV a decade and a half ago, so too should we challenge the underlying assumptions that perpetuate the cycle of extreme poverty.
I traveled with the ONE Campaign to Washington, D.C., to meet with Sen. James Lankford and urge him to fully fund State and Foreign Operations programs, which save millions of lives and lift millions out of poverty, building capacity without creating dependency. Yes, poverty and sickness exist in Oklahoma. As a person of faith, I cannot in good conscience care about my neighbors living next door and ignore my neighbors living down the street. The same is true for neighbors living in developing countries who desperately need help.
Lifting the poorest among us by fully funding State and Foreign Operations programs is a great way to make our voices heard. I'm encouraged by Lankford's heart for those mired in extreme poverty, his vision for responsible solutions, and his courage to say what needs to be said to protect these resources as we love our neighbors as ourselves.
The Rev. Jon Middendorf, Edmond Middendorf is pastor of Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene.