Readers sound off on gun control, voter turnout, Congress
Gun control needed
Something needs to be done about gun laws. This unrest in Ferguson, Mo., has been going on for too long.
Consequently, it is causing unrest in other cities and fostering tension between the races.
It is obvious why guns are bad — they kill people. We know that much.
But we have to understand that the heartbreak and deconstruction does not stop when an innocent person’s life is lost because of a firearm.
Government officials need to be doing more to promote peace and lobby for gun control.
How can we expect to feel safe and protected in a country where people are running around with guns?
Sydney Edmonds
Prairie Village
Boost voter turnout
Participation in the recent local primary election was dismal. Several counties across the state had fewer than 10 percent of registered voters participate.
Our state governance is built upon a strong system of local government control, but it’s a system that we can’t properly use without high voter participation.
Increasing voter participation should be the overarching principal of any reform.
With that in mind, I have offered a compromise in the Kansas House that would move local elections from the spring to the fall of even-numbered years. Unifying our election cycles by linking local races with state and national elections is key to increasing voter turnout.
Under this proposed compromise, local races would remain nonpartisan. The local races would appear at the top of the ballot to encourage participation.
It is clear that the current local election calendar does not serve the general population. For myriad reasons, Kansans do not vote in spring elections.
When such a low percentage of registered voters participate, the results fail to be indicative of the needs of the entire county.
This compromise is a nonpartisan, common-sense solution to increase participation at the local level, which benefits all of us.
Rep. Mark Kahrs
Chair
House Elections
Committee
Wichita
Congress hits low
It’s tragic that the world has seen that some U.S. lawmakers don’t follow the time-honored practice of no politics past our shores.
They seek to embarrass the president as he seeks a peaceful solution to Iran’s nuclear quest.
No, these Republicans and some 11 Democrats are cowed by the words of the Israeli prime minister and warnings of the accompanying American Israel Public Affairs Committee punishment of withholding campaign contributions from the Israeli political action groups.
These congressmen are out for themselves, and each and everyone should be voted out of office.
I have never been more ashamed of the Congress. This is a new low indeed.
Let the president press for peace and tell the warmongers to get out of Congress.
John Kovelan
Lenexa
‘Talk’ about police
I keep hearing about this “talk” that is given to young black men about how to act around police. I am white, and I also was given a talk about how to act around police.
My instructions were pretty simple. Don’t engage in illegal activities.
If you do, and the police confront you, do what they tell you. These instructions were extended to include all adults.
I do believe that young black men are subjected to extra scrutiny by the police. Most likely their experience has generated a preconception of what to expect.
Everybody has had to tolerate unfair treatment. Although it is hard to tolerate, the way to handle this is to follow the rules laid out in the talk.
If people of all colors start taking responsibility for their actions instead of focusing on the unfairness in the world, the obstacles in the world won’t hold anyone back.
William Gray
Overland Park
GOP senators, Iran
I find it hard to fathom that the Senate would skirt diplomacy and issue a letter to Iran in defiance of the laws of this country (3-12, Commentary, “Senators’ undermining of Obama hurts everyone”).
We elected these senators in the good faith that they would uphold the laws of our country.
It seems that they have taken the law into their own hands. Whether Democrat or Republican, this is not the way to solve this issue.
Why bother having a secretary of state who is supposed to be our diplomat when it comes to negotiating with other countries, no matter what the issue?
Sign a petition to end this madness once and for all.
Parris Johnson
Parkville
Kansas Legislature
Because we have a shortfall of income in Kansas to pay for schools and common people’s needs, I think we should send the legislators home. They shouldn’t return to Topeka.
They do not represent the average person anymore. Their only interest is to represent a few individuals instead of the majority of the state.
Also, another way to gain the money we need is to put the governor’s mansion up for sale to the highest bidder.
Most policymakers are wealthy themselves and don’t need the salaries or insurance benefits of their positions.
I would recommend the same in Washington, and I would like to see a limitation of Republicans and Democrats elected and have more independents elected.
If there were three elected bodies in the capital, they would learn how to negotiate and pass laws that are for the people of the country, not just for a special few like it is now.
I am quite conservative and also a far left thinker. I guess I am a moderate, but every U.S. citizen needs health care, food and shelter and the best schooling possible.
Stan McNickle
Overland Park
Transparency needed
Although some aspects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty have leaked out, much of it is cloaked in darkness.
If the treaty allows corporations to overthrow national, state and local laws, how would it affect international treaties?
Panelists at a recent forum highlighted potential effects of the trade agreement on agriculture, food and drug safety, and the expected loss of jobs in the U.S. They noted the ability of private international tribunals to impose fines for national, state or local laws that interfered with the ability of companies’ ability to freely sell their products.
With many companies having international subsidiaries, this would enable affiliated overseas companies to leverage laws they could not challenge as U.S. companies.
I wonder how international treaties would fare under the agreement.
The U.S. is one of the largest arms suppliers to the world. Presumably, the TPP would take precedence over national legislation such as the Arms Export Control Act, allowing corporations to decide where to export military supplies and technology.
Would it also allow corporations to export nuclear technology wherever they please?
Before we blindly sign away local and national laws, and perhaps national defense as well, more transparency is needed.
Amrita Burdick
Kansas City
Miracle of exercise
A report released by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in England says regular exercise is often more effective than pills. Regular exercise can cut an individual’s risk of breast cancer by 25 percent and the risk of bowel cancer by 45 percent.
Regular exercise can reduce the chances of ever getting dementia or having a stroke by 30 percent, says the report. It also cuts the risk of high blood pressure or type-2 diabetes by 50 percent.
This is better than many drugs, it says.
This miracle cure, 30 minutes of exercise a day, even just walking, can completely change your life.
Brad Lucht
Kansas City
Penalties for lying
NBC news anchor Brian Williams will be off TV for several more months without pay for lying about his helicopter taking fire. How long should someone be off without pay for saying, “If you like your insurance you can keep it”?
Good question.
Lowell Davis
Excelsior Springs
This story was originally published March 16, 2015 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Readers sound off on gun control, voter turnout, Congress."