Gun control: Responses to "Cities will pay a heavy price if handgun ban is overturned," @issue, June 23

What about the budget, Mayor?

I read Mayor Shirley Franklin's article on the Supreme Court review of the Second Amendment with interest. I find it strange that while she has time to delve deeply into the gun-control issue (which is largely irrelevant in Atlanta as we do not have ordinances akin to the ones challenged), she has said virtually nothing on the current budget issue.

How much longer will the citizens of Atlanta put up with a city government that every eight years or so throws up its hands and says, "Awww shucks, we missed something, now pay up"? What we need is accountability, especially from the mayor's office.

WILLIAM GAINES

Atlanta

D.C. paid a big price

Mayor Shirley Franklin predicted that cities would pay a heavy price if the Supreme Court declared that there is an individual right to keep and bear arms protected by the Constitution. What Franklin fails to appreciate is that cities such as Washington, D.C., have already paid a heavy price for the mistaken notion that stricter gun control will make a city safer.

D.C. has violent crime rates higher than many Third World countries, in spite of (or because of) its ban on functioning firearms. The crime rates drop dramatically the moment one crosses the Potomac into Virginia, where, within sight of the nation's Capitol, one can carry a pistol openly while going about one's daily business without even so much as a license.

Surely Franklin knows that gun bans disarm only the law-abiding. Gun bans leave firearms only in the hands of criminals and government. That is not the state of affairs that our Founding Fathers envisioned when they wrote the Second Amendment.

ED STONE

Stone, of Senoia, is president of GeorgiaCarry.org and a former police officer.

A city in search of progressive radio

It is hard to believe that now that Atlanta is one of the 10 largest metropolitan areas and media markets in the country, there is not a progressive radio station or progressive program on the air. It is past time for some progressive talk on the Atlanta airways. Meanwhile, four stations spew conservative talk. I listen since that is all there is, but these programs are becoming more boring as the hosts say the same thing as they quote talking points of the day from the Republican National Committee. Most of what is said amounts to lies, half-truths and fabrications. As the fortunes of the Republican Party decline, rants are becoming a part of every show.

Metro Atlanta's one experience with progressive (or some say, liberal) talk was the two years Air America was on the air. Unfortunately, the station had such a weak signal that it could only be heard in a small area. There is no reason a progressive station with a strong signal would not be a successful business venture in the area.

GEORGE G. ADAMS

Atlanta

Praise for Pitts; a call for dialogue

Regarding the column by Leonard Pitts ("That unbecoming 'victim hat,' " @issue, June 25): I am white, and I want to congratulate Pitts for hitting the nail on the head. We have all taken to wearing the victim hat in an effort to point out that we, too, are injured by racism. The problem is that it doesn't advance the dialogue, it just perpetuates racism. We have to raise the bar on the quality of the discussion in this country so that we're not just passing the "hat" but having an intelligent, substantive discussion that can advance our social condition. Bravo to Pitts. Well said.

DAVID STOMACKIN

Covington