Assault weapons ban is a step to banning all guns
As your July 28 editorial "Extend the Ban" illustrates, the drumbeat has begun in the media to reauthorize the 1994 "assault weapons" ban.

Claims that these firearms are criminals' weapons of choice are false. A congressionally mandated study confirms "assault weapons" were never used in more than 1 percent of violent crime. Even a Washington Post editorial admitted: "Assault weapons play a part in only a small percentage of crime. The provision is mainly symbolic; its virtue will be if it turns out to be, as hoped, a stepping stone to broader gun control."

Bill sponsor Sen. Dianne Feinstein confirmed her true agenda to CBS "60 Minutes": "If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them -- Mr. and Mrs. America, turn them all in -- I would have done it."

The gun control strategy has never been stated more honestly -- the "assault weapons" ban is one step toward banning all guns.

Results prove this gun ban has been useless. It's time for lawmakers to make their decision based on fact, and ignore the anti-gun deceit and hysterics.

CHRIS W. COX
Executive Director
Institute for Legislative Action
National Rifle Association
Fairfax, Va.

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He needed a gun
Regarding "Teen, 16, Charged in Killing of Pitt Student on Squirrel Hill Street" (Aug. 10), I beg to differ with Pittsburgh police Lt. Kevin Kraus. His advice to the public not to resist robbers is an open invitation to every street punk to rob us without fear of consequence.

According to the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Title 18, Chapter 5, subsection 505, paragraph (a) "Use of Force in Self-Protection" clearly states: "The use of force upon or toward another person is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such other person on the present occasion."

In layman's terms: We have the right to protect ourselves from these street punks by shooting them dead. End of story.

There are not enough police officers to protect us at all times. Usually the police arrive after the crime has already been committed. A loaded legal firearm and a proper concealed carry permit allow ordinary citizens to defend themselves. If a large percentage of citizens carried legal firearms, these types of street crimes would drop significantly.

If only Frank Ogiri-Little were properly armed, he might be alive today.

JEFF HARRIS
Freedom

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Not newsworthy
I am writing in response to your Aug. 11 article about the killing of Frank Ogiri-Little ("Two More Arrested in Killing of Student"). Like most people, I was happy to see that two more people had been arrested in connection with this senseless crime. However, by the time I finished, I was also upset about what seemed to me to be an irrelevant and insensitive addendum to the article.

One sentence in particular is most inappropriate given the tragic circumstances. You report that "this isn't the first time that Ogiri-Little has been in the news." The phrasing of this sentence makes it sound like Mr. Ogiri-Little was a man with a questionable reputation, possibly involving criminal activity.

In reality, the first time Mr. Ogiri-Little was in the news, he was the object of a bitter custody dispute. The second time he was the victim of a brutal, completely random crime. Not only is the wording of the article completely inappropriate, but the reason this information is newsworthy in any way eludes me.

In the future, I would hope that the authors and the Post-Gazette would exercise better judgment about what information is relevant to the story at hand. In this case you only served to dredge up painful memories for Mr. Ogiri-Little's family and friends.

LEE HALLER
Friendship

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Natural flip-flops
Why all the fuss about the euphemism "flip-flop"? In today's fast-paced world, how can there be a consistent policy of any kind?

The religious right wing is probably the source of this obsessive concern. They purport absolute standards that even they do not adhere to (do I need to give examples?) in this post-modern era.

I prefer to look upon John Kerry's "flip-flopping" on the war in Iraq as an exercise in commendable inconsistency. With the information he had to go on and the secrecy of the Bush administration, he had to opt for voting for the war. But once the truth became clear, he did what any unashamed politician would do.

The average person would do well to live one day at a time. That probably also applies to politicians.

ROBERT SVITEK
Harmarville

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Not frivolous
I wonder how a letter written by the chancellor of Duquesne University and co-signed by several lawyers and a retired judge could miss the point so completely ("Stale Claims, Justice and the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh," Aug. 9).

Unless I am mistaken, the burden of proof for the claims against the Diocese of Pittsburgh lies with the claimants, not the defendants. All of the arguments regarding witnesses and information being no longer available work more in the defendant's favor.

John Murray acknowledges that both the church and the injured parties are entitled to justice. The recent ruling should be welcomed then as a chance to ensure that justice is served fairly. These lawsuits are not for "frivolous reasons," as Mr. Murray implies. Money does not compensate anyone for sleepless nights, marital strain, depression or any of the other side effects of sexual abuse trauma.

The reason for my participation in the lawsuits is to put some questions to rest that I do not think the diocese has fully answered. If the diocese is and was truly ignorant of the actions of these predators, then that truth will out. If the diocese is and was aware, then that truth will also out, and I would hope that it would accept some responsibility.

I have shouldered the blame, wrongly, for many years. Through this lawsuit I hope to bring peace to myself and place that blame where it properly belongs. That does not sound frivolous, but it does sound like the justice Mr. Murray writes of.

IKEN GANSER
Bridgeville

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The worst ever
On Aug. 12, the following text appeared right at the top of your front page: "The animal rendering plant that opened in 1984 on Neville Island, and soon became the rancid ham bone that too often flavored the island's chemical soup of industrial air emissions, has stopped cooking." It was intended to be a subheadline on the story "A Breath of Fresh Air"; that headline appeared below the fold.

It seems to be the general practice, in newspapers, to keep headlines short and simple, letting the story itself take care of details, metaphor, etc. I appreciate your adding this mess of a header to remind your readers why that custom exists.

For what I can only imagine are educational purposes, you have outdone yourselves and your colleagues, and created the worst headline ever. Bravo.

MAC BOOKER
Shadyside

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Militarily accountable
Your Aug. 11 editorial about accountability for those superior to Pfc. Lynndie England is spot-on ("Chain of Evasion").

I left Pittsburgh after schooling and spent 31 years in the military. No way the abuses could have happened without someone higher up the food chain not doing the job, possibly at the highest level by passing down inconsistent guidelines, i.e. terrorists are not protected by the Geneva Convention.

This could be bigger than the Enron fiasco. Please continue to pursue this situation and provide the American public the truths they deserve to know.

WILLIAM H. PARKER III
Hartfield, Va.