Why can’t America get guns right?
Last Sunday, Al Hoffman Jr, a top GOP Republican donor, indicated that he would not give money to lawmakers that do not support gun control legislation, including a ban on assault weapons. This is a good start, but it is not enough.
In 1988, the United Kingdom passed the Firearms Act, which banned the ownership of: 1. semi-automatic and pump-action rifles; 2. weapons that fire explosive ammunition; 3. short shot guns with magazines; 4. elevated pump-action and self-loading rifles.
In 1997, the Firearms Act was amended to ban the purchase of all handguns. A mandatory buyback program was also initiated. By January 2000, more than 162,000 guns had been surrendered.
Australia has also been at the forefront of passing legislation restricting the possession of firearms.
In America, the most controversial element is the banning of handguns. You can hear the cries of the National Rifle Association and the gun lobby —we need guns to protect ourselves. Remember that handgun owners are far more likely to kill themselves or family members than burglars.
Dennis Brown
Kailua-Kona
Don’t reward government leadership
On what premise was the large salary increases given to our pencil pushers? It surely isn’t performance, considering our complete lack of concurrency and many other lack-of-foresight decisions, which have put the residents in many inconvenient situations. It seems our government has adopted the idea that our officials are worth more than the people who actually make our government work.
I say rescind those dubious fat raises and start looking for other useless ways to spend our tax dollars. If any business was run by our shortsighted government, it would fold from incompetence.
I say show some respect for the people who really make Hawaii County work and leave those in charge along in their lack of performance state.
Steve Snyder
Kalaoa
GET increase one more in long line
The meeting with Mayor Kim at Kohala brought to light the dire situation of our Hele-On bus transit system and the need to raise tax dollars to fix it and the monies could only be used for other related transportation needs. Thus far, our property and fuel taxes have increased along with registration fees and now a 12-year regressive general excise tax is being proposed.
Why? Our state legislators refuse to give our Hawaii Island County its fair and rightful share of the Transient Accommodations Tax, or TAT, dollars that would be more than sufficient to pay for needed services.
So, our Oahu-centric and weak outer-island legislators moved to allow county governments to raise the GET in order to gain more revenues to pay their bills. And I suppose we should be grateful like the Latka Gravas character in the TV series “Taxi” with a “tank you berry much.”
It’s been said, “You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
Really? They have been doing it for over 60-plus years and you would think we would wise up.
Jeffrey Coakley
Kapaau
People, not guns
Gun control laws are only for the law abiding. The terror and crooks don’t abide with laws.
The NRA is for safe and responsible ownership. When the person is sick, that is not the fault of the gun. The Florida shooting is the fault of the FBI, when they could not be bothered.
I’ve never heard of a gun going down the street and shooting someone.
Jim Koubele
Kailua-Kona
Tuesday’s poem author about the mood of the nation after the Florida shooting was omitted by accident. It was written by Carol Alena Aronoff of Captain Cook.
