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PrintWho needs to have this type of weapon?
Do Americans really need guns that are capable of firing dozens of bullets in a matter of seconds? The LA Fitness shooter fired 36 rounds into innocent gym goers in less than a minute ("Four Dead in Fitness Center Shooting," Aug. 5; "LA Fitness Shooter Had Lethal Plan," Aug. 6), four months after three Pittsburgh police officers were gunned down by another shooter armed with semi-automatic weapons.
The gunmen from both tragedies used semi-automatic weapons with ammunition that was illegal to possess as recently as 2004, but became legally obtainable following the expiration of the federal assault weapons ban. Attempts to extend the ban, which was signed into law in 1994, failed to pass.
Psychopaths and madmen may still find a way to commit senseless acts, but by allowing the federal assault weapons ban to expire, Congress made it easier to obtain such destructive weaponry. A new assault weapons ban would make things safer for all of us.
BRIAN J. DUERMEYER
Reserve
Armed and barbaric
Well, no further proof is needed. If the women in that gym all were carrying handguns the slaughter could have been averted. Indeed, if everyone in the parking lot of the shopping center had been armed, the intruder who was acting suspiciously could have been stopped in his tracks. Clearly then if every grade school and high school student carried a firearm then many of the recent school shootings would not have occurred.
What will it take for this culture to learn the lesson? Should heavily armed citizens present their case to heavily armed legislators and let the law of the jungle determine the outcome? If firearms are needed to negotiate everyday life, then we are not really living in a civilized society.
Let's break free of the trance induced by the National Rifle Association and its sympathizers and reclaim our culture from trigger-happy lunatics.
ANDERS ANDERSON
Bellevue
Re: first responders
I would like to commend the forgotten heroes of the LA Fitness tragedy, our volunteer fire and EMS crews. I have watched my father throughout my entire life put his community first in many different regards, but it is his fire department that is his true passion. I know that my dad is not unique in this regard, as there are thousands of others who serve selflessly -- whether it's sleepless nights on a call or the countless hours of training and drills to make sure they are ready for the worst.
Well, the worst visited Kirwan Heights in Collier on Tuesday evening, but all of the communities worked together and responded as quickly and efficiently as they could to limit the lives lost. Watching from home, you could see how well things were being controlled. As we sat and watched, I could see the years of training and drills were paying off in one single evening.
My mom said the sound of all the sirens descending on the neighborhood was like nothing else. It is this that we as Pittsburghers should be proud of. It was the sound of the surrounding communities' volunteers responding to a neighbor's need for help.
While we mourn the lives lost, don't forget those who did their best to comfort and tend to the wounded.
HEIDI LEWIS
Crafton
Pirates folly
Pirates fans are to blame. That's right, Pirates fans; you're to blame for 17 years of losing baseball in Pittsburgh. Instead of standing up and saying, "Enough is enough," you keep filling the seats at PNC Park, while the owners are laughing all the way to the bank!
Pirates management is a disgrace not only to the city of Pittsburgh and the fans but also to Major League Baseball. The management has lied to the fans by shipping away our young stars of the future -- players we loved, admired and came to the ballpark to watch. Today we have at best a minor league team on the field, not a major league team. A lack of veteran leadership for these young players also will hurt.
Management is living in a dream world and getting rich doing it. Most of us will not live long enough to see their so-called future.
CHUCK SHONKA
Avalon
Focus on the owners
Thank you and thank you! Finally, somebody has called out in the open for some accountability of the Bob Nutting/Ogden Nutting ownership of the Pittsburgh Pirates ("Waiting Game: For Loyal Pirates Fans, the Present Never Comes," July 31 editorial).
As a long-suffering Pirates fan, I am angry that we've been promised so much by this ownership both before they were majority owners, during their transition from partial ownership to majority ownership and now during their current reign with Robert Nutting at the helm.
Taxpayers built the most beautiful stadium in the country for this team. And what we have to show for it is a cheap ownership. Again and again, we see efforts to avoid spending serious money, as has been done by numerous teams in similar-sized markets -- Milwaukee comes to mind.
Yes, some progress is being made -- building a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic and last year's signing of the overpriced draft pick Pedro Alvarez, etc.
But the question remains: Will this ownership ever pony up some money beyond the usual $50 million to seriously allow this team to contend with teams such as Milwaukee, currently spending around $75 million per year? I'm an optimist, but in this case I have little faith that this ownership will ever do so.
The Pirates' dilemma is no longer the problem of the management team, the coaches or even the players. Let's keep the focus on Mr. Nutting from here on in.
PAUL HARTMAN
Lewisburg, Pa.
A new heirloom
The article about donated dresses at Lydia's Place was great ("Nonprofit Hopes Gown Sale Brings in Funds," July 29), and it's a super way to recycle and save money. But here's another suggestion for a wedding dress.
If you need a christening outfit for a baby, take your or a relative's wedding gown to a seamstress to see if it can be taken apart and turned into a christening gown and cap. My niece did that with her mother's vintage 1970s gown, and the christening gown has now become a family heirloom.
SALLY CECIL
North Point Breeze
Answers within us
As a physician and registered independent voter, I am frustrated by the constant shifting of blame by the two major political parties instead of their working to improve the access to and funding of our health-care system. But we must also focus on the responsibility of individuals to improve their own health status through better nutrition and exercise.
In general, we must stop overeating, stop smoking and start moving our bodies! We should continue to support preventive care initiatives like the Silver Sneakers program for seniors.
This is not as glamorous as high-tech medical treatments, but prevention is certainly cheaper in the long run and leads to a healthier and happier society.
THOMAS GILLESPIE, M.D.
Ross
Those feeding off the public should have tougher rules
In response to the July 30 article "Developers Don't Want Subsidies Linked to Wages," my opinion is that companies that line up at the feeding trough of corporate welfare should indeed have rules and responsibilities attached when receiving public subsidies (my tax money!).
When individuals apply for public assistance there are very stringent rules that must be followed or they are dismissed from the program. In fact, they are treated by many government officials as second-class citizens or lower.
Yet when corporations dangle the possibility of making an appearance in the local marketplace, local governments become eager to "give away the store" (again, my tax money!), with as few rules as possible, most times to provide minimum-wage jobs, which are still hardly enough to support a single person, let alone a family.
Gee, maybe I ought to write to Cranberry and tell the township officials that I might move there. Think I'll get a multiyear subsidy on property taxes or a five-year waiver for local income tax?
BILL LaVELLE
Ross
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