SECOND AMENDMENT
End concealed carry, display guns openly
Concealed weapon permits should be outlawed.
If a state wishes to allow its citizens to carry a weapon on their persons, they should have to carry the weapon in full view. I have always felt that my safety is at risk because I did not know who is carrying, and who is not. This move would also allow businesses that do not wish to have guns in their establishments to know who is carrying.
Law enforcement would have an easier time checking permits if they knew who was carrying. If you believe in this right, have the courage and conviction to wear your weapon in full view. Concealed guns have no place in our society.
SUSAN BINNS, MARIETTA
ZIMMERMAN TRIAL
Writer makes sense of a difficult verdict
Regarding “Verdict doesn’t excuse an avoidable homicide” (Opinion, July 17), thanks to Jay Bookman for focusing light and understanding on a very heated topic: the George Zimmerman verdict.
We read such pieces to help us make more sense of a difficult world.
SALLY MCDONALD, CHAMBLEE
We might reconsider ‘stand your ground’
Regardless of the merits of “stand your ground” laws, public response to the Martin-Zimmerman trial illustrates how challenging it can be in our polarized society to adjudicate legal cases arising therein.
When a law serves to exonerate persons who kill based on a perceived threat, there are bound to be civil repercussions, including claims of alleged bias in the law’s application. Does anyone care to speculate what might have transpired, had a black neighborhood watch volunteer shot and killed an unarmed Hispanic teenager under similar circumstances?
It is up to citizens who vote for — or against — such laws to decide whether their benefits outweigh the challenges.
PETE KRAUS, LILBURN
GOVERNMENT
3 branches forget their original roles
What has happened to our republic? It is clearly turning into a social democracy.
The congressional branch has lost all purpose regarding what is good for the nation. The parties have special interests and never agree.
The executive branch should execute directions from Congress — and not dictate.
The judicial branch should interpret the Constitution and existing laws — and not make decisions as to what is right for the moment.
Someone once said, “One of the great problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas.” What could be more appropriate than this quote today?
JOE SAPPINGTON, LAWRENCEVILLE
