EDITORIAL: Readers sound off on gun control, overtime and pot smoking

March 02--Bronx: After watching CNN cover a bipartisan White House meeting on gun control issues, I can't believe the ideas that these "intelligent" people are coming up with -- putting together child welfare cases with known schools' problem children, police department records, hospital mental records, FBI records, changing age limits from 18 to 21, reforming background checks and getting rid of bump stocks.

All of this may sound great, but it will take years before it can all be put in place, especially with the slow pace of Congress. In the meantime, shootings will continue and more children and adults will continue dying. Why can't both Republicans and Democrats realize that the one thing they could do right away is ban the sale of all semi-automatic weapons and multiple bullet clips. This will stop the mass shootings immediately as a gunman with a pistol can only shoot or kill one person at a time, giving victims a chance to run or take him down while he's reloading.

Then they could take forever and a day to discuss all these other issues. And by the way, on the Second Amendment, we already have a well-regulated militia: It's called the National Guard: private citizens ready at a moment's noticed to repel enemies and trained to help local and federal government in any and all emergencies.

It exists in every state in the nation. So stop using it as an excuse to be able to continue buying weapons of war for one's own private use. Jose R. Roldan

Attention grabber

Glendale, L.I.: Your front page headline "Look what he wants to snatch now -- Grab them by the pistol" (March 1) was totally disgusting! Instead of giving President Trump credit for suggesting to take away their guns before going to court, which takes forever, you belittle him again. If someone else had made the same suggestion, you would praise him to no end. How can you hate someone so much? The only reason I get your rag of a paper is for the Voice of the People and the crossword puzzles. Otherwise, The News is not worth getting. I wish you would get back to when your newspaper was the best one in town. No more! Rosie Stine

Daily double standard

Carmel, N.Y.: Absolutely hilarious. After weeks of liberals crying for gun grabs and accusing legal gun owners of being accomplices to murder, President Trump actually starts to do something about gun control -- and the Daily News cover slams him for lack of "due process." I guess if the agenda is to hurt the President no matter what, no sense letting the facts get in the way. You really are nothing but a couple of crossword puzzles and a Sudoku wrapped in propaganda. David S. Moody

Dick's doing good

Queens Village: I just read that Dick's Sporting Goods will no longer sell assault-style rifles and high-capacity ammo. Finally a corporation is taking a stand. Perhaps citizens and corporations will be able to achieve what the politicians will not do. Stand up to the NRA and get these dangerous weapons out of the hands of civilians. These weapons of war were created for only one thing, to take as many as lives as possible as quickly as possible. There is no place for these rifles in our society. I have never shopped at Dick's but I will make a point of doing so now! Gloria Catalanotto

Wrong story, wrong time

Jersey City: Re "Arming teachers can protect kids," (Feb. 28): Why would you ever print something like this when so many in this country are actively trying to enact gun reform -- and for the first time, with companies like Dick's, that have stopped selling assault-style weapons, it feels like we're actually gaining traction? The answer to gun-related violence is not more guns. We don't need any articles touting the benefits of more guns, we need more articles informing people on the benefits of banning assault-style firearms. I read the Daily News every day. Articles like these are reason to forget about you. The amount of ads you push is ridiculous anyway. Ellen Firth

Hooky recklessness

Woodside: To all the Voicers who are encouraging parents to keep their children out of school until Congress acts regarding gun control: You are proving to the world that you are using these kids as political pawns to further your anti-gun agenda. You act as if it is a noble thing to deprive children of an education because you disagree with the laws. Why don't some of you Voicers call for a general strike and set the example by telling your employers that you will refuse to come to work until this debate is settled in Congress? Any takers? I didn't think so because you know in the real world you would face consequences for not working (i.e. lost wages, termination). Stop using these kids by trotting them in front of TV cameras to play up the emotions of Americans. Pretty typical of liberals to sensationalize and capitalize on a tragedy by playing into people's emotions instead of presenting a factual argument. James Hahn

Failed policy

Bronxville, N.Y.: Richard Rothstein fails to discuss the horrible effect that the Obama administration's Affirmative Further Fair Housing bill had on cities such as Dubuque, Iowa, and Dallas, where the rate of violent crime increased dramatically ("50 years, minimal racial progress," Op-Ed, Feb. 28). One can only imagine Rothstein writing this article from his oversized house in a gated community where the crime rate is extremely low and the majority of residents are white. For sure, his neighborhood was not affected by Section 8 housing that brought low income housing into the suburbs. Thankfully, President Trump is reversing this. As for Rothstein, he is obviously a typical liberal who tells the rest of us underlings how to live. Nicholas Maffei

Spice overload

Jackson, N.J.: Voicer Diana Spalinski's letter mirrored my experiences growing up and being exposed to and showered with delicious and tasty foods. I too am frustrated by today's obsession with "culinary heat." Just go to a restaurant or pick up a commercial soup at the market and chances are they will be too spicy to savor and enjoy the true flavors. The overuse of spices, such as black pepper and cayenne, serve as a coverup for badly prepared and tasteless food. Ron Criasia

Overtime's just rewards

Brooklyn: Gov. Cuomo puts in place a "hiring freeze" on the state payroll and then there are complaints about workers who are making over $100,000 on overtime. I say more power to them. They are actually working to earn their money. These places require 24-hour staffing. Someone has to be there. The nurse who made more than $200,000 in a year is working 100-hour workweeks. As far as I'm concerned, she is grossly underpaid because her job is not easy. We pay Cuomo $179,000 a year to ruin New York State and I'm pretty sure he's not working 100 hours a week. Go figure. Theresa Colgan

Decline and fall

Jackson Heights: Anyone else notice that since society moved away from a merit-based reward system to a softer, gentler "everyone's a winner" and "no one's to blame" system, there's been a steady decline in this country across the board -- academic proficiency, athletic ability, health, ethics, etc., ad infinitum. It seems to have started the moment it was decided that schools should cater to rather than punish the disruptive few who curtail learning by the majority, supported by an endless litany of lame excuses for the absence of parental responsibility. New progressive motto: "Why suffer reality when fiction is so much nicer!" Chris Nichols

Spurned advance

Whitestone: I was watching the chancellor farce on NY1. Let me be the first to say it: Alberto Carvalho, de Blasio's choice, is a complete and utter ass. Jake McNicholas

Cat update

Garwood, N.J.: Thank you for the update on the person who tortured Chester the cat and streamed it live online ("Staten Island man who tortured neighbor's cat on Facebook Live gets 15 months in jail," Feb. 28). Thank you to the judge. Let him sit in jail for 15 months and think about what he did: Beat the cat with a stick, and throw a chair at him. And yet Chester recovered with the help of caring veterinarians. Are these people redeemable? I doubt it. Joan Tully

Puff in private

Bronx: Re "NYPD Doobie trap" (Feb. 28): I have been working on the Upper West Side for the last 12 years as a doorman and have dealt with hundreds of complaints regarding marijuana. I can tell you from experience that the majority of pot smokers I know are white condo owners, including some doctors. The reason the arrests are high among minorities is those are the idiots smoking in staircases and in public. Smoke in your homes, people. Frank Teti

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