Letters to the editor August 13
Wanted: Common sense
The latest act of gun slaughter hits literally too close to home for me and my family. The Collier Township LA Fitness center where a man opened fire on innocent women, killing three poor souls, is located in a shopping center that I frequent, and is just four miles from my residence. Thankfully for us, my wife and I did not know any of the victims, but we easily could have.
This incident should concern all of us, as everyone has become a target in today’s violent, coarse, hateful and crude society. As a Jew, I have additional concerns, as I believe that there is a significant cadre of deranged potential gunmen who are anti-Semitic.
The United States does not have a monopoly on mental illness, but it has a near monopoly on gun violence, as the Second Amendment has been twisted into a pretzel, one which would not be recognized by the Founding Fathers, who also could not have envisioned the Wild West mindset that prevails on the streets of many areas where guns are as prevalent and easily obtained as candy.
Virtually every body of elected officials is in the pocket of the National Rifle Association, which consistently utilizes the ludicrous argument that the more guns there are on the streets, the safer society is. To the NRA, every gun owner is “responsible” until the moment that they pull the trigger on a human being.
We insist that law enforcement officers undergo stringent psychological testing before being permitted to carry weapons in our name, but any citizen may amass an arsenal with little or no inconvenience, including weapons that are designed to mow down human beings in rapid fire. Where is our common sense?
Oren Spiegler
Upper St. Clair
Abortion funding decried
Like many Americans I am concerned about the health insurance industry’s practices, which too often put profits before people. I understand the sentiment for the administration’s health insurance reform proposals, and believe they deserve reasoned debate in Congress. There is a more important issue at stake, however: the right to life.
Congress has consistently voted to prohibit the public funding of abortion, and this provision should be an explicit part of any health insurance reform that is sent to the president’s desk. This issue is too important to leave in the hands of a panel of bureaucrats or an activist judge. While Congress is in recess, it is expected to listen to its constituents, so I urge your readers to make their views on this issue known to their elected representatives.
I urge your readers to join me in raising our voices to make sure we do not become complicit in funding abortions under the guise of health care reform.
Shirley Breitenbach
Gibsonia
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