NEWTOWN SHOOTINGS
Protect our children,
put officers in schools
With millions of guns of various types in this country and the ability to obtain weapons illegally, I have no confidence in gun control policies.
Instead, we should deal with the reality that there are Adam Lanzas all over this country. What the tragic situation in Newtown, Conn., revealed is that our schools are vulnerable, and we must protect them. I am in 100-percent agreement that there should be armed resource officers in every elementary school.
TERESA COLLIER, SMYRNA
Where are parents
in this violent culture?
I hope that President Obama’s committee which was created to address gun violence will show more wisdom than simply looking at a ban on certain firearms. Perhaps they should also consider how our culture is using its time.
Our own lives are now filled with computer and cell phone screens filled with everything, from pornography to graphic violence, that is poisoning our minds. My fear is that too many children are growing up in broken homes and becoming mental zombies who spend hours staring at screens. Where are the parents? Sadly, too many are unwisely looking at their own screens filled with nasty images and mindless tweets, posts and status updates.
KIP HOWARD, MARIETTA
Stigma of mentally ill
hinders needed help
My application for health insurance was turned down because I take anti-depressants. You would think that health insurance companies would want to help people like me because we are trying to help ourselves. Why do they make it so difficult for those of us with mental health issues to get help?
I think this reflects a societal problem. I would go so far as to say that most families have one or more members who suffer from mental illness of one kind or another. How do they approach getting help when mental illness is still a subject that brings ridicule from society at large?
This type of stigma makes it very difficult for many with mental health issues to accept the fact that they need help. The Newtown murders might not have happened if we could address mental illness in a healthy and open way. Instead of barricading ourselves in our self-imposed prisons with an array of weapons, we should be talking about how to deal with our biases.
MICHAEL DE GIVE, DECATUR
HEALTH CARE
In denial, Georgia fails
citizens’ best interest
It is the height of hypocrisy for Governor Deal (and others) to attempt to impede implementation of the new federal health care law in Georgia.
The purpose of the legislation is to provide broader availability of health care coverage. Georgia could have implemented its own program at any time in the past. Unfortunately, many states do not look out for the best interest of all of their citizens — which is the reason such federal laws are required.
DICK THOMSON, MARIETTA
