We are raising an entire generation of traumatized kids. It must stop. | Opinion

Mass shootings

Monday we heard of yet another mass shooting, this one on a college campus. More young people killed. What’s even more disturbing was that for some of the young people lucky enough to survive, this was the second mass shooting they experienced in less than a year.

Republicans in the N.C. General Assembly want to loosen our gun laws. Our loved ones are being gunned down daily across the United States. We are raising an entire generation of traumatized kids. Our children have more school shooting drills than fire drills. Kids are afraid to go to school. And yet, one political party in particular keeps wanting to make it easier to have guns with fewer regulations, let alone increased training.

The Second Amendment is not absolute, and Americans should have the right to live, go to school, go to church/synagogues, concerts, movie theaters, malls and on and on without getting gunned down.

Laura Reich, Charlotte

Tougher sentences

It seems not a week goes by without mass murders in our country. What is appalling is the solution our politicians come up with time after time — more gun laws and gun control. This is the epitome of uselessness.

Most gun crime is treated too gently and we don’t have effective laws yet to control gun use. And, the mentally ill generally don’t have access to proper treatment.

When politicians grow a spine and make punishment for gun-related crimes so severe that it is a deterrent, we will see change in mass murders and street murders.

Bill Wallace, Charlotte

NC gun bill

Another mass shooting, this time at Michigan State University. It was the 71st mass shooting in 2023. But the Republican legislators in North Carolina want to make it easier for residents to purchase firearms by repealing the state’s permit law for buying handguns. Where is the logic in this? How many more mass shootings must occur before American lawmakers pass tighter gun control laws?

Augie Beasley, Charlotte

Juvenile offenders

Regarding “‘It’s devastating.’ NC teens moved to adult prison, far from home after jail shuts down,” (Feb. 14):

If the ultimate goal is to turn youthful offenders into adult offenders, closure of the Mecklenburg Juvenile Detention Center seems to be the way to go.

According to the Observer’s article, the recent closure of the Mecklenburg Juvenile Detention Center cut off mentoring services and additional programs that used to be available to teens at the Mecklenburg detention facility. Plus, now there is the issue of family visits and families being such a distance away.

Rehabilitation appears to be a discarded word.

Melva Hanna, Charlotte

Next CMS leader

Given the merry-go-round of failed past Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendents, perhaps now is the time for the school board to start thinking out of the box for a replacement. Forego any candidate with an educational background and focus on a successful business person. A former or current CEO, president or COO with the proper business acumen would be the best candidate. A strong leader could assimilate a team to focus on major issues without the hindrance of past methods.

Ed Carlson, Charlotte

Social Security

Regarding “Republicans are too thirsty for Social Security cuts,” (Feb. 11 Opinion):

Social Security increases the national debt each year. The debt is huge, $31 trillion and rising daily. This op-ed writer did not mention the Social Security trust fund. The money from past years was spent and government IOUs were placed in the “fund.” The concern of Republicans is how to save Social Security and Medicare for the future. Stop demonizing the Republican efforts and tell us how to save these important programs. The status quo has to change, and soon. The debt cost us over $500 billion interest in 2022, so even the government has a borrowing limit.

Francis Dostie, Matthews

Demagoguery

Social Security is a crucial program for most Americans, yet “Republicans are too thirsty for Social Security cuts” (Feb. 11 Opinion) plays politics with the issue while making no constructive suggestions. Trying to score political points by attacking Republicans on Social Security is on page one in the Democratic political playbook (see President Biden’s State of the Union address). However, we can’t keep giving away money that we don’t have. The American people deserve better than demagoguery on Social Security.

Steven Nesbit, Charlotte

On being ‘woke’

I am “woke” and proud of it! To be “woke” has been used by conservatives as an insult against progressive values. But, according to several sources, the term “woke” was coined by the Black community in the mid-1900s to mean someone who is informed, educated and conscious of social injustice and racial inequality. So, would “dozers” be the right word to describe those who can’t be awake enough to recognize truth and injustice and block our “woke” attempts to seek liberty for all, regardless of race or gender?

Deb Park, Charlotte