Speak Out A 05/19/02

Internal protection

WYATT EARP was never hired by Tombstone, Ariz., to keep guns out of the town. He was sworn in as a deputy by his brother, Virgil Earp, when the trouble began the day of the well-documented shoot-out in the alley near the corral. The jury is still out as to who were the outlaws that day. Americans should be asking why our lawmakers keep chopping away at our constitutional rights. One of the main reasons our Forefathers added the right to bear arms to the Constitution was to be sure no internal army could rise up against the people. That being the case, we may not be armed enough.

An ordinary citizen

I FAVOR huge farm subsides. I favor protective tariffs for the U.S. steel industry. I am anti-free trade. I am an ardent economic nationalist. And, finally, in case you were wondering, I am just an ordinary John Q. Public Speak Out caller -- and not President Bush.

Experience with guns

I GREW up in Cape and now live in Dallas-Fort Worth. Down here we have the right to carry concealed weapons, and I find that reassuring. Criminals are less likely to target you if they don't know if you are armed. You can put in place any law you want to. Only the law-abiding citizens are going to follow it.

Possession of firearms

I NEVER cease to be amazed at the disingenuousness of the anti-gun crowd as they attempt to convince people that the mere possession of a firearm somehow turns peaceful people into cold-blooded killers. Gun accidents are at a 50-year low. And who is the greatest risk for a gun accident? The criminal who engages in risky, irresponsible behavior. Why should law-abiding citizens have their freedom restrained or destroyed because of the actions of those who have no respect for the law in the first place?

Crime going down

TO THE Speak Out callers who say lower crime rates are attributable to concealed-gun laws. You are wrong. There is no statistical data to support that theory. Crime in Missouri has decreased, and we don't have a concealed-gun law. I'm not against owning guns for protection in your home. However, we don't need people frequenting drinking establishments or experiencing road rage grabbing for their gun to settle a disagreement.

I-55 suggestions

THE I-55 project at the Diversion Channel will be great when it is completed, but it is causing major headaches for motorists. There has got to be something MoDOT can do to relieve some of the congestion. Perhaps it could reopen the northbound bridge and allow one-lane traffic traveling north. This would allow the southbound bridge to carry two lanes of traffic until the flooding problem goes away.

A hefty price

I'M GLAD that the caller who likes to see all the flowers coming out is happy. It just took some floods, tornadoes, thousands of dollars in damage and a couple human lives. But it sure is pretty.

A comparison

PRESIDENT BUSH'S policy on free trade makes the protectionist mercantilists of the Middle Ages seem like practitioners of Adam Smith's laissez -faire.

Repeat assistance

I FEEL sorry for people when Mother Nature unleashes her fury. I pray for those affected every day. But I can't feel sorry for those people who are once again needing the community's help in sandbagging so their houses don't get flooded for the fifth time. When you refuse to leave a flood plain, you need to be prepared to live with the consequences. I say one time for the federal government to help you out is enough, but I don't think my tax dollars should continue to help you after that.

Flood zones get wet

HOW CAN someone who knowingly moves into a flood zone gripe when his house floods? All of a sudden it's the Corps of Engineers' problem or a Little River Drainage District's problem? If you move in a flood zone, you're going to get wet.