The masters of women’s lady parts

To the editor,

From Congress to the Supreme Court, Republicans are obsessed with standing in front of America and the world and proclaiming themselves masters of women’s lady parts, something about divine rights of patriarchs that trump our Constitution. They incite their followers’ obsession with punishing and harassing women. Corporations, Republicans and forced birthers are deadbeat parents that under nourish 22 percent to 36 percent of America’s born children and create barriers to education. This is a plan for programmed failure to keep the cradle-to-prison pipeline full. Republican legislatures are throwing women in prison now for defying their patriarch religious laws.

The prison industry is of great profit to corporations and Republicans. George W. Bush’s policies introduced 4.8 million more children to hunger (USDA). The Bush family greatly profits from the Keefe Prison Commissary Industry. Mitch McConnell married into wealth and invested into Vanguard’s Tax Free money market fund. Vanguard is a major investment firm with the prison industrial complex. Between 2005-08, this investment rewarded Sen. McConnell with $5 million. (Glenn Reader, May 2014.) Would you cry “austerity” and cut nutrition and education programs for $5 million?

Did anybody’s corporate media inform them that the Center of Medical Progress that spoon fed Republicans fraudulent tapes concerning Planned Parenthood was manned by people such as David Daliedon, with ties to the violent fringe of forced birthers? Troy Newman calls for execution of care providers. Cheryl Sullenger served time in prison for plotting to bomb a clinic in the 1980s. She assisted Scott Roeder to track Dr. Tiller to execute him. Terrorists are Republican advisors?

The only things I see Republicans protecting women from is decent salaries, Constitutional protections, access to health care, and a healthful potential for their children. Republican obsession to control women is no mystery. It is about lust blended with obscene profit. Who pays for this obscene profit? You, the taxpayer.

Curious that journalist Robert Samuelson keeps inciting conflict between elderly and our youth without ever mentioning how the corporate prison industrial complex robs our youth and schools of problem-solving funds.

– Stephanie Johnson, Durango

(Editor’s note: The following was submitted as a project for Animas High School’s Humanities class, taught by Ashley Carruth.)

Less guns, less shootings

To the editor,

318 million people, 270 million guns: that comes out to be roughly 88 guns per 100 people in the United States. Yet, most conservatives and gun activists insist on adding to that surplus of weapons, suggesting it’s the ideal way to prevent gun violence. Research clearly shows that when states have more gun-restricting laws, there are less gun-related deaths. With mass shootings appearing almost every week this year, the idea of preventing gun violence becomes more and more prevalent with every shooting. And the most efficient and beneficial way to prevent these recurring tragedies and ensure security of Americans is to increase gun regulation on a federal level.

According to “Shooting Tracker” as of Oct. 1, 2015, the United States had seen at least one mass shooting a week Some weeks, a mass shooting was a daily occurrence. For most people, these numbers call for a change. However, gun activists lean on the Utilitarian belief that the needs of the many to keep their guns outweigh the needs of the people dying in mass shootings.

Gun activists suggest that increasing regulations, such as universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons, would take guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens but wouldn’t affect criminals. Arguments like these simply aren’t backed by evidence. A study by The Washington Post, as well as many others, found that gunmen in these mass shootings obtain their guns legally more often than not. However, if those with a criminal history had attempted to get a gun, a universal background check would have stopped them. Adding regulations that could prevent unstable people from obtaining a gun will only help prevent tragedies, not cause them.

Sure, you could argue that even if a killer couldn’t get his or her hands on a gun, they would kill with a different weapon, such as a knife. However, guns do provide a way to take as many lives as possible. Similar arguments are made when bringing up the idea of limiting magazine capacity. Most average 9mm handguns, such as the Glock-17, hold magazines that contain about 15 to 17 rounds, which could correlate to 15-17 people wounded or killed. In cases where the shooter uses multiple magazines, if the capacity were limited to seven bullets, that would equate to seven fewer people killed or injured per magazine.

Many say banning assault weapons and limiting magazine capacity is an infringement on their Second Amendment right to bear arms. However, universal background checks and magazine-capacity limitations maintain the rights classified by the Second Amendment but also regulate it in order to ensure security for all. Arguments to keep assault weapons legal beg the question: Why do people need military-grade weapons for home protection?

Before you argue for the Second Amendment, look at the facts. The Second Amendment was passed in 1789, a time when most guns were single shot and only accurate up to a hundred yards or so, with a reload time of around 30 seconds. The Second Amendment wasn’t written for the firearms and assault weapons we have today.

Those who oppose more gun regulation suggest that gun control simply doesn’t work, but new studies show just the opposite. According to research by the Harvard Medical School, states with more gun restriction and laws have significantly lower gun suicide and homicide rates than states with less gun control.

When getting a driver’s license in some states, citizens must first hold a learner’s permit for one year. Yet guns, which were invented and manufactured solely to cause harm, require less safety and regulations. Gun owners should be required to take gun-safety classes before buying their weapons and take annual safety tests in order to maintain their right to a gun. In the event that they cannot successfully pass the safety test, they must retake the class until they can.

Guns are part of American culture, and there’s no getting rid of them, but there are ways to prevent criminals from getting their hands on them and keeping them away from the mentally unstable. Without stricter gun laws, the numbers of mass shootings will only grow. Ask yourself: Is your right to owning a gun really worth another person’s life?

– Henry Isenberg, Animas High School

Praying for forgiveness in 2016

To the editor,

Navigating through 2015 was almost as challenging as when I lost a loved one 2 ½ years ago. The world, too, has described itself in a hopeless boat longing for miraculous figures, without a devious agenda, to take the helms.

Although I do not believe in organized religion because of the centuries of wars it produced, still produces, I pray under God and other loving forces to create a positive course that will end the extreme madness everywhere in 2016. Forgiveness is key and not hard for everyone to do. Please join in.

Love, peace and goodwill.

– Sally Florence, Durango