I like my guns, but the Second Amendment isn’t the Ten Commandments. | Opinion

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I like my guns, but this must end

The writer is a retired state senator who served in the N.C. legislature from 1989-2011.

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“Stay outta churches, Walmarts and schools...” is a message I received from a friend of mine in Nashville recently. While not mentioned, he was referring to the school shooting that had taken place there about the same time our legislature in Raleigh had made it a little easier to purchase a weapon in North Carolina.

I’ve seen a lot of changes in my lifetime. While I haven’t agreed with all of them, many have been for the best. But of all the changes that have taken place, I never thought I would see the time when parents would send or take their kids to school and have to worry that someone might come in with an assault weapon and slaughter them indiscriminately.

How sad it is, and it doesn’t have to be.

According to a pediatrician in Uvalde, Texas two of the school-shooting victims were so “pulverized” they could only be identified by their clothing. It seems there are some who think our Second Amendment is written in stone like the Ten Commandments. It is not.

I learned long ago that the law is what the people say it is at any time in history. For example, a little over a 100 years ago women couldn’t vote. There have been 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

I believe in the right to bear arms and I have them. And I like my guns. But I love my grandkids, great grandkids and all children. There is a difference between “like” and “love.”

We shouldn’t have to live in fear that someone might come into schools, churches, malls or any public place with a weapon designed to kill scores of people. It doesn’t have to be. Unless for law enforcement or military use these types of weapons should be taken off the streets.

Here’s a challenge to my lawmaking friends: Do something! Prove you care more for “we the people” than the gun lobby.

Charlie Albertson, Beulaville

NC must face this child care crisis

A large crowd of child care workers gathered before the General Assembly recently, tired from the ordeal of the past three years but grateful for the support they’ve received. They were there because North Carolina faces a child care crisis.

Child care workers’ compensation could be cut if the state legislature does not act — and families will face fewer choices for affordable, high-quality child care.

COVID funds are set to expire at the end of this year. Known as Child Care Stabilization Grants for Compensation, this money enabled child care providers to remain adequately staffed without meaningfully raising the price families pay. When the funds expire, programs may be forced to increase costs, decrease services provided, or shut down, leaving N.C. families with fewer, more expensive child care options.

This possibility does not have to become a reality. The N.C. legislature can support the state’s child care workforce, parents, families, and employers by extending Child Care Stabilization Grants for Compensation.

Over the last three years, nearly 4,000 child care programs in the state benefited from these grants. Many used the funds to stay open by increasing salaries and providing or expanding benefits like health insurance, sick leave and access to mental health services. Still, most child care providers don’t make more than $15 per hour.

When asked in a recent survey what was likely to happen to their programs once Child Care Stabilization Grants for Compensation end, child care providers cited staffing and affordability concerns that could threaten their ability to operate. More than eight in 10 programs indicated they would not be able to maintain current salary levels or were uncertain if they could do so. They reported that without the continuation of these grants, long wait lists could grow longer making child care options less accessible to many families.

State legislators can prevent this crisis. Extending these grants will help programs recover from the pandemic and stabilize — and that helps N.C. families and the state’s economic recovery.

Kristi Snuggs, president, Child Care Services Association

Janet Singerman, president, NC Child Care Resource and Referral Council