Published: May 08, 2008 04:43 pm            

LETTERS: May 9, 2008

Reader: Guns are fine, it’s people that kill



I keep seeing comments off and on from people saying they “hate” guns, they would “never” own a gun, oh, and my favorite one “guns kill.”

Please stop showing your ignorance. Why would you hate something that, if properly used, may save your life one day or the life of your loved ones?

When you hate guns, the criminals love you. They love when they can walk into a school where there are unarmed innocent people who they catch defenseless so they can just end their life. They love when they can break into your home and take you at gunpoint and there is no amount of begging that you can do to convince them not to drive you off somewhere to torture and kill you.

Listen up, guns do not kill. People kill. Guns are like many other things in life, if you respect the right to own a gun and learn to use it properly, a gun can be the difference between your life, your child’s life or the criminal’s life.

Imagine the lives that could have been saved on 9/11, if someone responsible and respectful would have been able to carry his or her gun, legally, on the plane. Imagine how many school children would still be alive if just one teacher would have been allowed to responsibly have a gun legally in their possession.

Please do not use the argument that if a teacher were aloud to have a gun that a student could take it from them and use it on another child, or that if someone on a plane who was legally carrying a gun would allow some bad person to take it from them then it would be a catastrophe? Hello, look at the alternatives!

Our founding fathers had enough intelligence to know that in some instances, owning a gun and using it properly to protect our loved ones was something that was going to be important enough to put in our Constitution. But when you sit back and listen to these so-called “gun control” activists who obviously only want the criminals to have the guns, I want to thump them on their heads.

If you choose to own a gun, fine. If you choose not to, then don’t come crying to me when that thug approaches you and you have no way to defend yourself. I really don’t think they are going to listen to your reasoning, but they will listen to mine.

— Lisa Smith, Jeffersonville



Soldier offers thanks for support



My name is Sgt. Boyd Thomasson of the U.S. Army.

I am from Jeffersonville, Indiana. I am currently serving in Iraq to help ensure the freedom of the Iraqi citizens and I would like to thank you for all of your support to the American soldiers who continue to perform, fight, and even die on the battlefield.

Every week, we receive packages here from someone’s church, family or a local support group. It is quite obvious that it is hard to be away from your family for months at a time. These small gifts you send, help to pass time and allow us to take our minds off of the loved ones we have left back home.

Again, thank you for your support.

— Sargeant Boyd Thomasson, HHC Company, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, Jeffersonville



Reader: NAFC woes are administrative

I read with great interest and concern the reduction of teachers in the NAFC school system. I believe it is a tremendous mistake.

We need a building trades teacher at Prosser to help prepare interested students for a life after high school.

The more I thought about it, I would believe it is important for the NAFC school administration to think about a reduction in force in their own offices. I'm sure the funds saved there would allow teachers to maintain their positions.

It makes me think about an old saying: "The bottleneck is always at the top."

— Elizabeth Madden, Georgetown





Clarifying IUS Democrats’ stance

We would like to correct the statement contained in the article of May 1, 2008, regarding the recent visit by Madeleine Albright to IU Southeast that IUS College Democrats supported the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.

Our organization did not make any endorsement in the race between Sens. Clinton and Barack Obama. We remained neutral in the campaign. The purpose of the College Democrats is to help all Democrats and our members enthusiastically offered their help and support not only to Secretary Albright and Chelsea Clinton when they visited the campus but also to Sen. Obama when he came to IU Southeast.

— Linda C. Gugin and Jim St. Clair, co-faculty advisers of IU Southeast College Democrats



Reader: Leadership is problem in contract debate



I have been seeing Floyd County teachers wearing protest shirts to school while not allowing students to wear similar clothing. I have been hearing how teachers are so underpaid. I have heard the school system won’t come up with any raises for teachers.

A Floyd County teacher with a bachelor’s degree starts out at almost $32,000 per year. They automatically get cost-of-living raises of one to four percent annually. They can make around $60,000 with more time and education. They get paid extra for chaperoning and coaching. That’s a lot of money by most standards. They get 96 percent of their insurance paid. They are off weekends, holidays and summers.

When talking to any teacher, I have never heard one say they did it for the money. So when does the money become the driving force? Maybe when the leadership gets greedy.

In my son’s school, his teacher had assistants that did most of the work. I remember a parent-teacher conference where for 15 minutes his teacher told us how badly he was doing only to finally open his folder to discover she was talking about the wrong student. My tax dollars at work.

— Tim Davidson, Floyds Knobs

        

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