Thanks, legislators: We all pay the price for no helmets

Not to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle is not just Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's personal choice, and I'll tell you why ("Multiple Injuries, Few Answers for Roethlisberger," June 13).

What happened to the insurance rates on the Gulf coast after Katrina? Last I heard the policies either went up in price or were canceled. Insurance works that way, whether medical or automotive -- the more accidents, deaths and injuries, the more we all pay through increased rates.

This should have been considered when those in Harrisburg changed our helmet law.

For the betterment of us all, let's rescind this no-helmet (personal choice) law. It can only save lives and lower our rates.

WARREN E. SHEPPICK
Fallowfield

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Must we be told?

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made an unfortunate and nearly fatal misinterpretation of Pennsylvania law and the role of government ("I think that's my own discretion," Mr. Roethlisberger said previously about not wearing a helmet when he rides. "Obviously, Pennsylvania doesn't think people need to.")

In repealing the helmet law, state lawmakers weren't saying that Pennsylvanians don't need to wear helmets. They were saying that people don't need to be told to wear helmets. There's a difference. Some things are just too obvious to have to legislate.

ERIC HOFMANN
Coudersport, Pa.

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A senseless gamble

Remember that commercial, "This is your brain ... " (frying egg) ... "this is your brain on drugs"?

Ben Roethlisberger has given us a graphic image of what a human head looks like hitting a windshield and then the hard pavement at a decent rate of speed.

Big Ben is a lucky, lucky man.

However, this isn't about Ben Roethlisberger. It's not about professional athletes and their obligations to their teams or fans, and it's not about freedom of choice.

It's about physics. It's about logic. It's about common sense. It's about your unprotected head meeting the pavement at any rate of speed greater than 5 mph.

You will get injured. You could die. With odds like that, why would you gamble? By the way, I am a motorcycle rider and helmet wearer since 1974.

AMY ZARICHNAK
Crafton

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Our rights to choose

In the wake of the horrible accident of Big Ben, it has become a major discussion as to whether he should have been wearing a helmet ("Helmetless Riders: Out of Their Skulls?" June 13).

The issue here, folks, is that Ben Roethlisberger had the right to choose whether he wished to wear a helmet or not. That is it.

Who knows? He might change his mind now after all this trauma, but the bottom line is that he will have the right to change his mind, which is truly freedom in these United States of America.

Unfortunately, those of us who do not ride motorcycles still do not have the right to choose whether we wish to wear seat belts or not. This makes no sense to me, as it would appear to me that it would be more dangerous not to wear a helmet on a vehicle with no metal or protection completely around the driver, as is the case in an automobile. This, too, should be our right to choose.

KARLA WOOD
West Homestead

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Why identify driver?

I was surprised and disappointed that the Post-Gazette released the name of the woman involved in the accident with Ben Roethlisberger.

As the Post-Gazette well knows, football fans in Western Pennsylvania are extremely passionate. Let's face it, some Steelers fans are actually a little nuts. That being the case, we can all imagine how some of the more passionate fans might treat this woman if they are able to find her house. Of course, since the Post-Gazette also released the neighborhood in which she lives, fans who want to will have no problem finding her.

Fortunately for Mr. Roethlisberger, his injuries do not seem to be serious enough to hinder him from leading the life of a normal human being. His future in football as a result of those injuries, however, is yet to be fully determined, despite news reports yesterday ("Roethlisberger's Injuries Only on Face, Will Play in Opener," June 13 Web). What happens if he is unable to play football even for a season? How will fans react? More importantly, how will fans treat this woman, who -- thanks to the Post-Gazette -- we all know?

The accident as it occurred was bad enough. Though it was simply an accident that could have happened to anyone, I am sure that the woman involved already feels terrible about her involvement. I hope Steelers fans will react more responsibly toward her than the Post-Gazette has. Support Ben Roethlisberger in any way you can, but understand that this woman meant no harm.

DOUG KUKTA
North Huntingdon

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Marriage is a social custom, not a right

The overwrought, childish remarks by Robert Arlia of Cranberry regarding the same-sex marriage amendment ("The Same-Sex Marriage Debate in Harrisburg," June 8) evince the intellectual decay of so-called progressives and their resort to rhetoric rather than engaging in debate on this or any issue. Mr. Arlia referred to legislators who voted for the amendment as "fear-mongering terrorists."

First, marriage is not a right, nor is it a civil right or an inalienable right. It is a social custom of long standing. And while marriage customs have varied widely throughout cultures, for numerous practical reasons, same-sex marriage, as opposed to polygamy, hasn't existed in any culture. Referring to marriage as a "right" is in keeping with the contemporary (and largely Western) practice of converting all issues into arguments over rights, with the various social/political groups then attempting to get their "rights" sanctified by the law.

Nonetheless, an assertion is no substitute for rigorous argument, and no amount of boisterous assertion will turn marriage, heterosexual or homosexual, into a right found through the transcendental miracle of constitutional intepretation.

Philospher Mary Ann Glendon has written that the overemphasis on "rights" talk has impoverished political discourse. Nowhere is this more evident than in debates over same-sex marriage, which has large and complex implications beyond the assertions of rights.

Now if only people like Mr. Arlia could engage in mature debate on this subject.

JEFF OLEN
Butler

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The DEP secretary is playing politics with public policy

Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty's June 7 letter is outrageous ("Mercury Pollution Will Make Our State Uncompetitive").

Ms. McGinty alleges that we might not see any mercury reductions in Pennsylvania under my bill. The facts speak otherwise. Since 1999, pollution controls installed at Pennsylvania power plants have reduced emissions by 33 percent. DEP's data indicate that by 2015, 90 percent of our generating capacity will have installed pollution controls to reduce mercury. The insinuation that we will trade our way into compliance is simply wrong.

DEP's handling of the mercury issue is the most intellectually dishonest exercise I have seen in my time as chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. Secretary McGinty is playing politics with public policy, engaging in fear mongering that should embarrass any public official. We ought to ask why she wants us to lose jobs, raise energy prices and reduce our generating capacity for no added health benefit.

As to mercury in vaccines, perhaps Secretary McGinty should have listened to the rest of our June 6 committee hearing. Dr. Calvin Johnson, secretary of health and a board-certified pediatrician, testified that with the exception of influenza vaccines, none of the routinely recommended vaccines contains thimerosal -- the preservative thought to pose a health risk to children. Under established guidelines, no child will receive excessive mercury from vaccines.

It's ironic that Secretary McGinty says I am trying to stop the public process. I have chaired three extensive public hearings. My bill does not go forward unless other legislators are persuaded. Contrast that to a regulatory process of one, where only a non-elected secretary has final word on a mercury rule. My colleagues and I are committed to reducing mercury emissions and protecting the public's health. We have our own families, after all.

SEN. MARY JO WHITE
Chairman
Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee
Harrisburg

The writer is a Republican from Venango County.

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