There is no need to own semi-automatic weapons in the US

US gun laws are archaic at this point

The need for a militia was an important law hundreds of years ago. We are now a civilized society, and that need has gone away.

To refer to that law as a “right to bear arms” rings hollow. I have lived my entire adult life without having to own a gun. I do not live in fear. I’m sorry you do. Let’s use common sense, like New Zealand’s response to the latest tragedy, and get the semi-automatic guns off the streets.

There is no reason anyone needs to own an AK47, an M16 or any type of firearm of that nature. If you want your hunting rifle, go for it but don’t use archaic laws to justify your reasoning.

I’ll hold off on my apology to Trump

It's worth noting that we don't yet know the full results of the Mueller investigation. All that has been released so far is Attorney General Bob Barr’s interpretation of the report, and even that information is far from the full exoneration that Trump claims.

The investigation has produced numerous indictments, plea deals and spawned multiple additional investigations of potential criminal behavior by Trump, his family and associates. Given that, I think I'll hold off on apologizing to President Trump.

I wanted a more persuasive argument

I applaud your decision to have a pro-Trump Republican on your op-ed page. It's time your readers got to hear a prominent right-wing perspective. But couldn’t Desiree Zapata Miller have made a more thoughtful and persuasive argument?

There are many points she could make in support of the president and many valid criticisms she could make about the Democrats, but her article didn’t seem to do that. “More Democratic Shenanigans in the 9th” just seems typical. Candidate Mark Harris was found to have hired a convicted felon to manipulate ballots; why would she choose this subject for her article with everything else that’s been going on?

Let’s push for the use of clean energy

I wish that for just one day the term “global warming” would be replaced with the thought that while this issue is being debated, we are being poisoned. The debate over whether or not man is to blame for global warming is a smokescreen excuse for the continued use of fossil fuels in our world.

Many of the hundreds of chemicals associated with petroleum-based fuels are incredibly toxic and are the root causes of many diseases that plague humanity. Let us begin to recognize the immediate health and environmental dangers of the continued use of our current energy sources. Let us make moral, logical and intelligent choices for ourselves and for the sake of our beautiful planet.

Let’s push for a paradigm shift to clean energy in the future.

Sheriff McFadden can get the job done

Sheriff Garry McFadden exhibited no respect when he didn't notify the police and officials in the Cornelius area he was setting up a speed sting. He was showing his inflated ego a little too much.

I agree with the sheriff that something should be done about the speeding that goes on in our entire city, though. Now, if he will lower the horrible crime rate (shootings, killings, etc.) he will impress the taxpayers who pay his salary. If he succeeds in these areas, we would be privileged to have Sheriff McFadden serve this great city.

Red light cameras will work for sure

I agree completely with Forum writer Tom Massey that there is not enough enforcement of traffic violations in Charlotte. Red light cameras would help because when we’ve had them before, they were a deterrent to red light runners.

Daily, I see people speed up to run a red light. If a policeman is at the light, the speeder seems to run it anyways because if the policeman tries to catch him, there will be a chase and if caught, the courts will just let them go. They will just do it again. The city and county leaders don't seem to care about this problem when they should.