Rise in NC gun buying isn’t Trump’s fault. Chaos in US cities is making people afraid.

Rise in gun buying isn’t Trump’s fault

Regarding “Donald Trump’s fake fear is having a real effect on NC gun sales,” (Sept. 3 Editorial):

So the Editorial Board thinks that encouragement from Trump is the reason people are buying more guns? Or could it be the rioting, looting, and destruction of property that is happening.

There is lawlessness and chaos happening in cities all over the country. People are scared and buying guns to protect themselves, their family, and their property, not because of Trump.

Tony Horton, Denver, N.C.

That fear is not ‘desperate fiction’

Far from “Donald Trump’s fake fear,” people buying guns at a rate 145 percent that of last year are responding to antifa-fueled rioting, at least 19 leftist cities either cutting police budgets or considering it, and the “Ferguson effect,” wherein police, persecuted for enforcing laws, avoid making arrests. The result is exploding homicide.

New gun buyers finally realize what we’ve said for decades: the police can’t protect you. That includes in Raleigh, where a business owner reporting arson told a TV station: “We called 911. We got nothing …(The dispatcher) said we will not send anybody out if it’s going to put our people in danger. …I said, ‘look I don’t think y’all understand, we’re not calling for the fun of it. There is three blazes going on across the street. There are people that live around these houses.’”

Does that really sound like “desperate fiction”?

F. Paul Valone, Raleigh

Trump is no friend of North Carolina

Donald Trump continues to make concerted efforts to manipulate the 2020 election, including:

▪ Refusing to confront countries (Russia) on their election interference.

▪ Claiming without evidence that vote by mail is fraudulent.

▪ Claiming his absentee voting by mail is OK because it happens in a Republican state that can handle the issue.

▪ Taking steps to hamper mail delivery.

Now, he goes to Wilmington and encourages people to vote twice, which is a felony offense.

This comes after he burned NC with the planned RNC convention that was manipulated on his whim. Does anyone really believe this guy is a friend of North Carolina?

Steve Hester, Denver, N.C.

Elect candidates who’ll care for all

Hate abounds in the texts of not only people with extreme views, but the leaders who represent us.

Can our country withstand another four years of extremism, of mocking victims who’ve been bullied or unjustly killed?

We are all part of the human race. Either we come together to understand and love one another or, as Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”

This fall, let’s take a stand against those who validate injustice and vote for those who’ll care for all.

Debbey Woodruff, Cornelius

Barrage against Trump is backfiring

So, Dana Milbank blames the violent protests across the country on Trump. (Sept. 3 Opinion) He says, “What’s needed to calm the situation is for leaders to denounce violence in all forms.”

Agreed, but where have the leaders on the left been hiding? The way I see it, they were sadly silent until their poll numbers began to drop. They have jumped the shark.

In the left’s quest to take Trump down since before he came into office, many people are numb to the constant barrage and it’s having the opposite effect.

Marcia Levas, Huntersville

Blind obedience vs patriotism

Waving the flag while being intentionally misinformed isn’t patriotic, it’s blind obedience. Only a factually competent electorate can navigate our democracy to a better place.

Numerous democracies around the world have failed; their civil rights lost through blind obedience and disregard of the truth.

We are off track. More Americans believe the unbelievable than ever in my lifetime. Social media isn’t a fact source, it’s a business that sells clicks and likes.

We should be educating our kids in schools and universities how to determine the truth-worthiness of any claim. First, let’s all look in the mirror and determine if the person we see is a truth-teller.

Lee Fluke, Charlotte

Why can’t I get a receipt for my vote?

Regarding “With record number of mail-in ballots, NC voters get options,” (Sept. 4):

One key option which has not been discussed is a written confirmation that one’s vote has been received and recorded. It is inconceivable that with all the available automation, a written receipt is not provided. One should be given to every voter, either at the voting precinct or via mail if the ballot is mailed in. Receipts are provided for every purchase made today. Why not for something as valuable as a vote?

Ed Carlson, Charlotte