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Should Congress Ban High Capacity Gun Magazines?
Tweet Share on Facebook February 22, 2011 Comment (23)Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter argued that gun magazines should not exceed 10 bullets; the NRA's Chris Cox wrote that such a ban would lead to innocents being harmed. A sampling of reader comments:
I have two pistols that I routinely carry legally for self-defense. Both of these pistols have magazines higher than 10 rounds. I did not commit a crime using my firearms, so why am I to be punished? The next time someone commits a mass murder with a vehicle, are we going to see pushes for stricter licensing, lower capacity fuel tanks, and walls built around all roads? Remember, mass murder can be committed with five gallons of gasoline and a match, both perfectly legal to own. Change your argument from pistols to cars or word processors or some other legal possession and see if your argument makes sense.
PHILLIP CLEMMER Leesburg, Fla.
Yes, of course the Congress should ban high-volume ammo clips. When all else fails, common sense should prevail.
JIM HALL Vienna, Va.
This proposed ban is nonsense. The assault weapons ban and the 10-round mag ban did nothing to curtail crimes with guns. Notice I did not use the term "gun crimes," because guns by themselves, being inanimate objects, cannot perform any actions or crimes. A person must use the gun in an illegal manner. Every time some evil person uses a gun to perpetuate a tragic event, the gun grabbers and control freaks seize on the incident and exploit the victims' pain for their own twisted agenda.
JOHN FARRAR Mansfield, Texas
After reading Chris Cox's position on large-capacity magazines, it just goes to show how the NRA has helped to create mayhem in this country. I am not opposed to the Second Amendment or the right of citizens to own guns. However, I would like to see the NRA become more responsible in encouraging saner gun use. Large magazines have one purpose, and that's to kill as many people as quickly as possible. To use the lame argument that you would want this capability if you were being attacked shows what little common sense the NRA uses in promoting the abusive use of automatic guns and large-capacity magazines. I would like to know how many cases the NRA knows of where a private citizen had to and successfully used a large-capacity magazine to fend off multiple attackers.
GEORGE MAVROS Lancaster, Pa.
Banning guns, magazines, clips, or cosmetic features has never worked. Never will. There are already millions of magazines in circulation. You can't confiscate them all, and banning further sales will only make them more valuable. If such a law passes or is in the process of being passed, expect the market to be flooded with millions more magazines before it takes effect. The only difference between magazine capacity is about two seconds to change magazines.
JOHN THOMPSON Stoughton, Wis.
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Obama, Middle East Unrest, and China
Tweet Share on Facebook February 18, 2011 Comment (1)Unrest Abroad and at Home
Unrest over conditions experienced by common people bodes ill for leaders who refuse to or are incapable of proposing substantive solutions ["All Eyes on Egypt," February 4]. When I was in Egypt a year or so ago, I sensed the frustration of people who want work but can't find it. Dissatisfaction with the Mubarak regime was evident, as shown by the snide comments made by Egyptians as we passed the Mubarak political billboards. Many Americans are now moving in a similar direction. Leadership involves more than throwing money at a problem. The intrusion of government into the lives of people has the potential for strife.
DON MATHIS Carmichael, Calif.
The State of the Union
At a time of unprecedented debt, the president spoke of more "investment" and a piddling "hold fast to current spending" ["Obama's Centrist Message," January 28]. It would impact a very small part of the economy. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid take a huge chunk of the budget. Entitlement spending needs to be fixed, and it will take an inspired leader. Our current president is not capable, and indeed, I can't think of anyone on either side of the aisle who is.
WILLIAM T. BERTRAND Wilmington, N.C.
This "say anything" president won all the instant ratings for his oratory, not for what he proposed, which was to freeze government discretionary spending (12 percent of what it spends) for five years at the current unsustainable level. What was needed was a courageous call to make some tough choices. [Rep.] Paul Ryan did that, and he got slammed for sounding alarmed. Give us a break!
CHARLES WATKINS Fredericksburg, Va.
President Obama's State of the Union speech was a brilliant effort to promote unity in America. It would be refreshing if analysts and commentators spent more time looking for points of agreement and acting on them, rather than feeling compelled to be contrary just for the sake of a provocative headline or sound bite. Restoring America's prominence in the world is more important than stitching up threadbare egos.
JAY GORDON Willits, Calif.
The Rise of China
You, as well as other media, allude to America's decline and China's rise ["Editor's Note" January 21]. Sure, the economy in China is on a roll, and people are being lifted out of poverty. So, relative to where China started 30 years ago, there is vast improvement. But on factors such as healthcare, overall living standards, educational opportunity, civic engagement, commercialization of research and development, and many other factors, where is the United States's steady or deep decline?
JACK FENSTERSTOCK Bethesda, Md.
Many Americans are apprehensive of China's rise. I am wondering: Why? For many years, the United States has been the wealthiest nation on Earth. Now globalization comes in, and China is coming next. The natural law of equilibrium is always functioning. Why be apprehensive? Relax.
VENANCIO CHEOCK Los Angeles
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AARP Doesn't Take Sides in Partisan Politics
Tweet Share on Facebook February 15, 2011 Comment (2)Ron Bonjean is certainly right that our country needs to break from the status quo in Washington and work together on solutions that help all Americans. So it's disappointing that he repeats some of the same divisive and misleading attacks that have created such a corrosive political atmosphere in the first place ["Ruling Healthcare Law Unconstitutional Is New Sputnik Moment," February 1].
Contrary to Mr. Bonjean's assertion, AARP has always leveraged the advocacy power of our members and volunteers on behalf of the interests of older Americans—nothing else. That's a big reason why over the years AARP has been attacked by both sides of the aisle for standing up for older Americans rather than siding with either political party.
It's hard to tell what Mr. Bonjean means by his false charge of "exemptions" when he doesn't even try to back it up with any facts. We'll assume he's rehashing the usual myth that AARP is an insurance company. To be clear, AARP is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with a membership. While there are insurance products that carry the AARP name, they are underwritten by insurers such as Delta Dental, UnitedHealth Group, and Aetna and others—not AARP. We work to ensure those products meet our standards and provide value to our members.
His attack of being too close to one party sounds a lot like the ones used by Democrats who didn't like our work with the Bush administration (Mr. Bonjean's employer at the time) to enact a new prescription drug benefit in Medicare that older Americans desperately needed.
Mr. Bonjean's post is either a sign of confusion or opportunism. Either way, if he truly cares about our nation's future—and not just politics—we hope he'll abandon the divisive rhetoric that suffocates honest, meaningful debate among people on both sides of the aisle who want to move our country forward.
Jim Dau
Director of Media Relations
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Debating Healthcare Reform Repeal
Tweet Share on Facebook February 7, 2011 Comment (5)Rep. Dave Camp argued that the healthcare reform law was a costly overreach and should be replaced; Rep. James Clyburn wrote that the law represents a moral imperative. A sampling of your thoughts:
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Teacher Training and Blame for the Arizona Shootings
Tweet Share on Facebook February 1, 2011 CommentTeacher Training
After reading Mortimer Zuckerman’s editorial in the Jan. 14, 2011, issue of U.S. News Weekly (“Needed: The Best and the Brightest of Teachers”), I must voice my frustration. As a retired high school teacher, I have experienced firsthand the classroom challenges of educating our young. In all the discussions about what’s wrong with education and how it needs to be fixed, I have never seen any mention of the “teacher-training institutions,” many of which are still teaching too much useless theory and too little useful practice. Why are these institutions left out? What they are doing in the name of “teacher training” is a critical component in the equation!
PAULA BARRETT Ashland, Ore.
Blame for the Arizona Shooting
I believe the shooter was a deranged person, period (“Editor’s Note,” January 14). Maybe he will someday reveal his reasoning for this heinous act. And I believe that the discussion on political “rhetoric” is good if all parties will tone down their speech.
LOIS FLOYD Prescott, Ariz.
Unless one subscribes to the idea that all politics are irrational, which may have some elements of truth, the actions of an obviously disturbed person in Tucson cannot reasonably be ascribed to political and/or media rhetoric.
JACK SATER Eagan, Minn.
What I find most interesting is the flood of liberal politicians, news readers, commentators, etc., who are not only mindlessly regurgitating their long-standing opposition to the rights of Americans to “bear arms” as stated in the Second Amendment, but are now, apparently, also railing against the First Amendment in agitating for all kinds of new controls on the freedom of speech.
PAUL WEISS New York N.Y.
Today more than ever, communities are constantly exposed to inflammatory rhetoric. Radio stations in particular seem to be owned by corporations feeding audiences polarizing commentary. Even in larger markets, one cannot escape the propaganda of hate. Since marketers pay to get in our face and ears to repeat the virtues of products, clearly constant exposure to hate begets more hate, and unfortunately for some, this leads to violence.
LOU TOLIVER Buford, Ga.
Do not blame the tool (firearms), or the rhetoric. Both would be ignorant misdirection. Blame the young man who crafted the crime. Was he crazy? Well, yes, you have to be a bit nuts to be a criminal and do unlawful things. Let us look at the real issues. Why was he not put under medical observation long before this?
JEFF CARTER Honeoye, N.Y.
The immediate response by the hard-core left to the acts of a crazed gunman was repulsive. It smelled like the rotten political opportunism that it was. I don’t agree with the president on much, but he struck the exact, correct chord. Regarding the idea that a lack of civility in the political discourse had anything to do with the tragedy in Tucson, he said, “It did not.”
GENE DOMOWICZ Hillsborough, N.J.
