I definitely believe no one except a member of the military or a police force needs a semi-automatic or automatic weapon.
I also believe the average American does not need a magazine enabling them to get off multiple shots without reloading. This might, at least, give first responders or potential victims a chance to incapacitate a shooter.
I also believe in the rights of hunters. However, when you’re hunting, you only get one missed shot before the animal bolts away from danger. I also don’t believe the answer to gun violence is more guns.
I don’t hold out much hope that limiting automatic weapons such as the Bushmaster, AR-15s, Glock 10mm, etc., or banning high-capacity magazines will be enacted into law.
The NRA and the gun and ammunition manufacturers they represent are too powerful. They will simply obstruct any legislation hoping the outrage most of us feel dissipates.
That being said, reading in the Washington Post that there is already a proposed law in the Virginia legislature requiring teachers and principals to be armed got me thinking.
Maybe there’s another option while we work to sort out the root causes of our violent society.
Is it access to weapons, cuts in mental health funding, violent movies and video games or parental responsibility? Most likely, it’s all of the above.
When we lived in Amsterdam, they were installing what they called “man traps” in banks and jewelry stores with bullet-proof glass and metal detectors.
It’s basically a vestibule containing two sets of interlocking doors with an intercom and video that can be controlled from another part of the building. A person shows ID and/or explains their purpose for being there.
And, mind you, this is in a country where there are very few guns and crimes carried out with a gun are rare.
In the Netherlands if you want to go hunting, you go down to the local armory and sign out your gun.
If a man-trap had been in place, this latest shooter would not have gotten in carrying an arsenal of legal weapons. Additionally, bullet-proof glass everywhere in the school would have prevented the maniac from shooting his way into the building.
This system is also safe enough to be used in schools. Fire code would require that someone could exit the space while denying access to the secure area.
Why is it this, along with bullet-proof windows, couldn’t be federal law?
I can hear it now: “Oh no, our taxes will go up.” But, what kind of country do we want to live in?
A civilized society must have other priorities than simply taxes. I would pay higher taxes to protect our most vulnerable, wouldn’t you?
Elaine Monroe
Capon Bridge, W.Va.
Editorials
There are ways we can protect our most vulnerable people
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Walk Smart
Many local residents will be visiting Ocean City this summer, so it is worth noting that the resort has launched a campaign that it hopes will keep pedestrians out of harm’s way.
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Frostburg’s Bridge Program was important
After hearing rumors of possible changes being made, I just wanted to take a few minutes to put into words what the Frostburg Bridge Program meant to me as a child. Growing up in Frostburg, my parents were small business owners, my mother a teacher, and my father worked for the postal service.
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Trailer case bound to increase scrutiny on town of Piedmont
This letter is in response to the recent story concerning the guilty plea entered in federal court by Piedmont’s town foreman (“Piedmont town foreman Shingler enters guilty plea,” May 21 Times-News, Page 1A).
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Fixing community’s problems starts with your young people
I am writing this letter to the editor because I think our community really needs to work on plenty of issues. Some of them are:
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High priority
Maryland school officials on Tuesday put an exclamation point on the need to take student-athlete concussions more seriously.
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Cashing in
As anyone who lives in the area knows, economic gains have been hard to come by in recent years. The opening of the Rocky Gap Casino Resort is one of the biggest boosts the region has seen in some time.
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Why have the media been silent all this time?
When I read the Cumberland Times-News Editorial this morning, Friday, May 17, entitled, “Outrageous,” I laughed like a kid at a birthday party!
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What are chances this much money will be spent on road?
I was intrigued by cost data summarized in reporter Kathy Mellott’s recent article, “Completing southern link of U.S. Route 219 said to be best use of highway funds,” which appeared in the Cumberland Times-News on Tuesday May 14 (Page 1A).
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School board should be doing better job with less money
The Allegany County Teachers Association (ACTA) board of directors recently submitted a letter to the editor asking the Allegany County commissioners to fully fund the Board of Education’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year (“Commissioners should fund school board request,” April 29 Times-News).
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Better ‘Click It’
If you notice more police on the highway this week, it’s for a couple of reasons.
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