Sounding off: Where is our decency and common sense?

I am a gun-owning wife of a military veteran, daughter of a lifelong member of the NRA and mom to a son who was on his school’s rifle team. I would never relinquish our weapons. However, as a responsible gun owner, I am appalled that those on the right have already begun screaming about the government wanting to use this devastating, tragic shooting in Texas as a “gun grab.” Apparently, any common-sense regulation is unacceptable.

We regulate our cars, our medicines, our food production, but mention the gun industry, and people fall apart. Background checks, three-day waiting periods and raising the buying age to 21 are evil “Demoncrats” coming for your guns? They are not.

And Faux News, instead of thoughtful debate on regulations, has been running “ideas” that would turn our schools into military prisons with armed teachers, man traps, trip wires and full police presence at each building. What would that cost? How awful for the little ones to spend their day in that, always fearful.

The vitriol I am reading any time this topic comes up tells me we have lost our collective decency along with our common sense. Our forefathers weep.

Karla Thomas, Hempfield

Throwing money at the Russia problem

Oh dear, Russia invaded Ukraine. How horrible! What can we do to fix this? I know the answer. Let’s print billions of dollars and throw it at the problem. That’s sure to fix it. Never mind that this will fuel inflation. Never mind about any type of military or diplomatic strategy. Never mind what to do if it doesn’t succeed. Never mind who will replace Putin should he be deposed. Never mind that much of this money will end up in the hands of the Ukrainian leadership (one of the most corrupt on the planet). Never mind that Russia’s 30,000 missiles are at Defcon 5.

Thank God we have political leaders who know how to solve these types of problems. Simply print money and throw it at the problem. That will teach those nasty Russians a lesson.

Dr. Joel I. Last, Greensburg

We need background checks and ban on military-type guns

The U.S. Constitution on guns:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The shooter who murdered 19 children and two teachers was not a member of a well-regulated militia.

I pray there will be large protests in support of gun control across the U.S.

Ninety percent of Americans support requiring background checks and 65% a ban on military-type guns.

Molly Rush, Beechview

Speaking up for vulnerable is the Christian way

In response to Dave Ninehouser’s letter “Jesus never preached about abortion”: Jesus also never preached about drug cartels or nuclear war, which are evils that plague everyday society. Ninehouser seems elated to make his point that abortion was an accepted practice in Rome as if Rome was anything but a brutal and unforgiving society (especially for Christians) that also supported slavery and crucifixion.

Is the child in the womb any less of a child of God because it is yet to be born? Does the author perceive Jesus telling a pregnant mother that it’s God’s way to abort her child because it will be less of a burden on society?

According to the Bible, Jesus said “if you love me, follow my commandments.” (Thou shalt not kill comes to mind.) Jesus also said “This is my commandment, love one another as I have loved you” but apparently, this is only applies after birth. Why is it a double homicide to murder the mother and unborn child but not a homicide to abort the unborn child as some would have it even at birth ?

Ninehouser alleges that Republicans use the pro-life movement as a political wedge to gain power. How is speaking up for the most vulnerable who have no voice anything but Christian? What a weak-minded comment to imply that abortion is somehow sanctioned by the son of God simply because the author chooses to ignore God’s teaching.

Richard Lafferty, Buffalo Township

Biden should reverse direction on fossil fuels

Can our rapidly escalating rate of inflation of prices actually destroy our economy, the world’s strongest? Fuel prices at the pump for cars, trucking, farm machinery, airlines, home heating and fuels used in the manufacture of plastics, fertilizers and consumer goods and foods are skyrocketing.

This follows President Biden doing everything he could from his first days in office, including stopping construction of the Keystone XL gas pipeline and well sites on government lands, in my opinion because he was politically beholden to climate extremists like left wing, Green New Deal proponents.

Biden’s stated goal was to eliminate fossil fuels. Let’s hope and pray it’s not too late for Biden to wake up and reverse directions to free up American oil and gas industries to produce more fuels. This could result in fuel prices dropping rapidly, since fuel oil contracts are based on futures bidding. If not, inflation could get out of control and our economy could be in danger of collapsing, as it recently did in Venezuela, where over 60% of the population remains under the poverty line.

This is the same nice guy president under whom we’re seeing not only the worst inflation in 40 years but also the worst border crisis in American history, with record drug smuggling through the southern border and the worst crime wave in cities since the 1990s.

If you question the authenticity of this information, you might want to try switching channels occasionally.

Ron Raymond, Buffalo Township

Shame on those opposing sensible gun reform

Shame on the NRA and the gun lobbies. Shame on all the spineless politicians who take blood money from them. When the forefathers enacted the Second Amendment, they could never have envisioned the weapons we have now. Weapons that have no other purpose than to shoot as many people as they can in the shortest time.

Let’s bring sensible gun reform before Congress and let the record show those who vote against it. Thoughts and prayers are not enough. Stop this senseless violence.

Nancy Cochran, Springdale

Open primaries would benefit all

Regarding the letter “Keep Pa.’s primary as is”: Pennsylvania voters should not have to just “join the party” for a choice between something better than the lesser of two evils in November.

In 2020, I can’t have been the only one who wondered why, with 330 million people in this country, the best we could do was two old white guys born in the 1940s.

Open-party primary voting would give us more relevant candidates because it would make each party less polarizing, which would contribute to rebuilding our national unity. The current system provides an incentive for party leaders to keep us at one another’s throats by focusing our attention on identity politics and the culture wars.

With nearly $5 gas-pump prices, are pronouns, critical race theory, replacement theory and the “big lie” really the most pressing problems facing our nation?

Instead of being more woke than woke on one side, and more Trump than Trump on the other, were candidates compelled to vie for independent voters, they would have to address inflation, affordable housing, education, health care and economic growth.

Open primaries will force the cynical party elites to stop wooing their radical bases and instead concern themselves with the bread-and-butter issues that truly matter to all of us.

Peter Busowski, Jeannette