Gun control
Think through assault rifle ban
I recently emailed a Florida state representative who had pledged, among other things, to ban assault rifles in the state. I asked him if he would ban the sale and transfer of these guns or ultimately make them illegal to possess, and if the latter, would the state buy them back or confiscate them? I've yet to get a response.
Although the government does not know how many assault guns are in the hands of the public, there could be between 50,000 and 100,000 assault guns in Florida. The cost of these guns range from $800 to over $3,000 each. When Austria banned many weapons, it paid as much as $1,000 each for semiautomatic guns of this type.
Could the state come up with $25 million to $50 million to immediately buy up assault guns when it doesn't know how to pay for armed law enforcement officers to protect schools? How many people would willingly give up their guns and how many otherwise law-abiding citizens would instantly become felons for keeping them? Now that there is a strong possibility of a popular referendum on banning assault guns, it's important that these issues be discussed.
Steve Hemingway, Tampa
Gun control
Degrees of lethality
Lethality. That is the specific issue at the heart of the gun control debate. At Parkland, 17 were killed by an assault rifle. Many more were killed at the Pulse nightclub and the Las Vegas concert, also with assault rifles. In Maryland, two were injured with a handgun. Perhaps both will recover.
About 30 years ago, I examined a convicted murderer in a forensic psych unit in Broward County to determine if he was competent to proceed to trial. In the late 1970s, he peeked in his bedroom window, saw his wife in bed with another man, but decided the knife he (the murderer) was carrying was too iffy, given the other man's superior size and the necessity of entering the house to confront the wife's lover up close. The murderer left, came back 15 minutes later with a handgun, and killed both his wife and her lover with shots from the open window into the bedroom.
Human behavior is difficult to predict and control with great accuracy. The lethality of assault weapons is fast and close to absolute. They must be banned for anyone other than the military or police.
David Nathanson, Tampa
Tampa police officer shot | March 20
Numbed to the violence
There's nothing remarkable about this article; it's one more incident made possible by the staggering number of guns in our society. These incidents are reported daily with a regularity that numbs our consciousness.
I have no issue with gun ownership if one feels the need to keep firearms to protect your home, or if you're a collector or a hunter, or you are someone who likes visiting firing ranges. But as Justice Antonin Scalia detailed in District of Columbia vs. Heller, the Second Amendment does not confer an unrestricted right.
Let's not overlook that every time a gun is fired, there is real potential for grievous harm or death, which makes it obvious that commonsense restrictions are necessary. The opposing argument, that all we need is to add more guns to society to make it safer, is so preposterous it borders on immoral. More guns means more shootings, which means more injuries and deaths.
Jon Crawfurd, Gulfport
Zone for more housing units | March 20, letter
Too much crowding already
The letter writer's suggestion to "upzone" parcels to allow for increasing the number of living units allowed is a terrible idea. Pinellas County is already basically a built-out county. We already have significant infrastructure issues. Traffic has increased exponentially in just the last few years. Gridlock on our roads is now the norm, not the exception (even on roads recently expanded). St. Petersburg already has trouble dealing with sewage. And we are always in, or on the verge of, a water crisis.
Zoning throughout the county by the varying municipalities has already been too lax, leading to these problems. Most major roads are already expanded as far as they can be without going vertical and are already full of traffic. Does the letter writer really think that impact fees will pay for new sewage plants, water plants (if we can even find the water), waste disposal plants, let alone the vertical road expansions to handle the additional people and all the cars, water/power usage and waste that comes with them? And if so, where do you propose that these plants and roads be built?
The issue of affordable housing pales in comparison to the disastrous repercussions that "upzoning" would cause. The bottom line is that you can't keep pounding more people into limited space.
Glen Getchell, Seminole
Let greyhounds run | March 20, letter
Animals deserve more
No doubt some racing greyhound owners care for their dogs and treat them accordingly. But that is not the issue. The issue is how we humans view animals: as vehicles for entertainment and profit or as living, breathing and yes, feeling, companions who deserve much more than a cramped crate for a home.
Deborah Van Pelt, Tampa
It shouldn't be this hard to fly | March 20, letter
No improvement here
The letter writer's comments are spot-on concerning the changes from a shuttle bus to a train to and from economy parking at Tampa airport. The train adds 15 to 20 minutes to the process and requires individuals to haul their bags across long passages in the garage as well as in the terminal. The train cars have seats for eight, requiring all others to stand.
The shuttle buses promptly picked people up at the garage elevators, and drivers loaded the luggage, provided a seat and deposited individuals close to the appropriate check-in counter. This is clearly not an improvement for users of the garage.
Joseph Valenti, Tampa