No reason to have training center in a forest
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ desire to establish a training center for law enforcement is understood and appreciated. However, there is no reason to site it amid 380 acres of woodland.
Despite the “gift” of 300 acres as a park, 380 acres would be better. More significantly, the city appears to have shopping centers and office parks that are either empty or nearly empty. Why not repurpose one of these for the training facility?
The police and fire departments are training to protect us and our neighborhoods, not to be foresters or park rangers.
HOWARD MANCHEL, ATLANTA
Debt ceiling not the same as budget negotiations
Some congressional representatives, see “Opinion: Working to hold the line on D.C. deficits” (AJC.com, May 12), attempt to confuse voters about what the debt ceiling is and the catastrophic impact of not raising it.
Raising the “debt ceiling” is the annual process of paying for all of the country’s bills, keeping the country operational and paying our investors (via the U.S. Treasury market). It is not a budget negotiation, which is a separate process. Unlike an actual budget (tabled by Biden on March 9), the Limit, Save Grow Act is only a demand for cuts couched in euphemistic verbs.
Dangling the debt ceiling signals to the world that the $24 trillion U.S. Treasury market — which funds our economy and moves markets worldwide — is not reliable. This brinkmanship threatens every program funded with federal dollars as well as the stock market, which affects everyone.
KATHERINE KRUMMERT, ALPHARETTA
Let Republican Party select presidential ticket
We would like to see the Republican Party go back to the days of the smoke-filled rooms and give us a presidential ticket we can support without the throat-slashing, self-inflicted diatribe that will inevitably be forthcoming from the Republican debates.
The RNC has a plethora of super-qualified candidates who could win handily over Joe Biden and the Democrats. The Republican field is more than able to bring intelligence, honesty, records of achievement and, above all, integrity to the White House.
Any combination of these patriots will ensure reforms in immigration, DOJ, IRS, energy independence and economic growth in our country.
So stop the silliness and give us a pair of candidates without the waste of time and money these senseless debates will cost.
JOHN AND DONNA MCNAMEE, ALPHARETTA
Right to bear arms must adapt to modern realities
I acknowledge the Second Amendment’s emphasis on a “well-regulated Militia.”
Our society has evolved dramatically since the 18th century; our militias are now professional law enforcement and military institutions. The weapons of today are considerably more powerful than those of the framers’ era.
We must consider whether unrestricted access to these weapons aligns with the framers’ intent. Is their proliferation securing or undermining our citizens’ safety?
More stringent gun control may be necessary to reconcile the right to bear arms with modern realities. The Constitution is adaptable, and we must ensure our interpretation of the Second Amendment also evolves, securing not just the right to bear arms but the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans.
AARON TURPEAU, JR., PH.D., ATLANTA
