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On Oct. 1, 59 Americans were killed and more than 500 were wounded in a shooting spree we all know about.

In 1968 those kinds of numbers were a bad DAY in Vietnam. This was a bad 11 minutes in Las Vegas. What is it going to take to get some controls on these weapons of choice? Can we, as a people, really say that these types of weapons are needed and should be available to the general public, often without background checks or other safeguards?

We have the heaviest armed civilian population in the world, and I am one of that population. I do not propose taking guns away from our citizens, at least not the ones we use for sport. However, I see no need to have assault weapons available to the public, especially those with a magazine that will hold upwards of 50 rounds. One doesn’t target practice by firing 50 rounds at a time. The bullets of these rifles will go through walls indiscriminately and not care who or what is on the other side. What are they used for? Name me one case, just one, where one of these weapons SAVED the lives of a household. They are almost universally accepted as the weapon of choice for mass murderers and psychopaths like the guy in Vegas.

No one is suggesting we change the Second Amendment. Do you know what it takes to amend the Constitution? No president can do it. No Congress can do it. No state or group of states can do it. It is a very difficult and deliberate process, which is why there have only been 17 changes made since 1791. And two of those changes negate each other.

It takes, now listen closely, a two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives (292 out of 435) along with a two-thirds vote in the Senate (67 out of 100) just to get the amendment to go to the states for a vote. Then it takes three-fourths of the states to ratify it to make it part of our Constitution. That is 38 out of 50 states must say OK to the new law. Can you for even a second believe 2/3 of the House would vote to repeal the Second Amendment even if someone was stupid enough to propose it? The Founders were very smart when it came to the Constitution and they made it very difficult to alter.

So tell me, American public, what is it going to take to get us to change how we look at gun control? I was unfortunate enough to live and teach school about 20 miles from Sandy Hook where, on Dec. 14, 2012, 20 first-graders and six adults were murdered. Can you possibly put yourself in the place of one of those parents? How would you feel? What would your stand be now? We have seen the numbers escalate in the years since so what is next? 100 dead and 750 wounded? 200 dead? 500 dead? When is enough enough?

I am not looking to be a revolutionary on this problem, only a voice of reason. How many deaths will it take? Or will it take the death of someone close to you because all the men, women, and children who have been murdered by people who are obviously deranged or jaded in some way had friends and relatives who were close to them. I pray it doesn’t happen to anyone I know or you know. I do know it WILL happen again. How many will it take, America? —Russ Stilwell Kalispell

Left was afraid of pro-life Roy Moore in Senate

Some years ago, in the state of Alabama, a woman who was a known drug user and who had become pregnant, was arrested for violating a law that said it was a felony offense if anyone used drugs in the presence of a child. The woman who used drugs denied that she ever used them in the presence of a child. The state claimed she had a child in her womb. The woman again denied this, saying essentially that “it was only a blob of flesh.” The case went to the trial court, which ruled against the woman. The case was appealed with the same result.

The case then went to the Alabama Supreme Court, which ruled 8-1 against the defendant. The opinion written by Chief Justice Roy Moore was several pages long. The basic holding, however, can be reduced to one sentence. Moore held that “an unborn baby or a child in the womb is a Person from the moment of conception” and as such is “entitled to the ... Rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, as enumerated in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America.”

As I stated in the beginning, that was some years ago. Now, in the present, Judge Moore has announced his intention to run for the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. Judge Moore’s announcement must have really shaken up the so-called LEFT, particularly the so-called “pro-abortion crowd,” who feared that the Alabama Supreme Court decision that held “an unborn child was a person” could easily be extended to prohibit all abortions.

President Trump, during the presidential campaign identified himself as being PRO-LIFE. Since becoming president, he stated he would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned. It is easy to imagine that happening if Roy Moore is elected to the U.S. Senate. “What to do?” “What to do?” That must have been the cry of the so-called pro-choice groups.

What I wrote in the first four paragraphs was fact. What I write now is conjecture. I believe that some person or persons with a lot of cash, paid several women to accuse Roy Moore of improper sexual abuse allegations. It used to be the basic rule of law, that “a person was innocent until proven guilty.” Now, it appears that the opposite is true; that a person is perceived as guilty until they can prove themselves innocent.

It was amazing to me, to hear so many politicians call for Roy Moore to immediately drop out of the Senate race. Shame on them. Judge Roy Moore has vehemently denied all allegations of sexual abuse. His wife has supported him, saying he has always been a perfect gentleman. I, for one, believe in Roy Moore. Let us not forget that this is the same Roy Moore who was willing to give up his position as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, over a controversy regarding The Ten Commandments. He believes in the Ten Commandments and he authored the most beautiful pro-life legal opinion that I have ever read. That is why I believe and support Roy Moore.

I urge all the good people of Alabama to vote for one of your state’s best: Judge Roy Moore. I truly believe Roy Moore will be a great U.S. senator for Alabama. In closing, I must say I do not know Roy Moore. I have never met Roy Moore; nor have I ever spoken to him. However, between now and the election on Dec. 12, I shall be praying for Roy Moore and his family. —Suzanne Brooks, Whitefish

Garner sold out his constituents

One of the pathetic “defenses” of Gas Tax Garner was that he “went across the aisle” voting with Democrats who consistently raise our taxes and make big government bigger as a “solution” to the huge Montana state deficit.

For this betrayal of his campaign promises, a letter writer called him a “statesman.” A better term is “statist” because, like the Democrats, he voted to strengthen the cost and power of the state. The expense of Medicaid expansion that Mr. Garner voted for in 2015 and the other tax-raising big-government bills Mr. Garner voted for are the main reason for our government deficit.

This is the classic doomed-to-fail strategy of asking the taxpayer to “solve” problems by paying more taxes to feed the big government trough that caused the problems in the first place. Nice try, but there is no excuse for the actions of the likes of Gas Tax Garner. —Frances Young, Lakeside

What is it going to take till we get gun law changes?

On Oct. 1, 59 Americans were killed and more than 500 were wounded in a shooting spree we all know about.

In 1968 those kinds of numbers were a bad DAY in Vietnam. This was a bad 11 minutes in Las Vegas. What is it going to take to get some controls on these weapons of choice? Can we, as a people, really say that these types of weapons are needed and should be available to the general public, often without background checks or other safeguards?

We have the heaviest armed civilian population in the world, and I am one of that population. I do not propose taking guns away from our citizens, at least not the ones we use for sport. However, I see no need to have assault weapons available to the public, especially those with a magazine that will hold upwards of 50 rounds. One doesn’t target practice by firing 50 rounds at a time. The bullets of these rifles will go through walls indiscriminately and not care who or what is on the other side. What are they used for? Name me one case, just one, where one of these weapons SAVED the lives of a household. They are almost universally accepted as the weapon of choice for mass murderers and psychopaths like the guy in Vegas.

No one is suggesting we change the Second Amendment. Do you know what it takes to amend the Constitution? No president can do it. No Congress can do it. No state or group of states can do it. It is a very difficult and deliberate process, which is why there have only been 17 changes made since 1791. And two of those changes negate each other.

It takes, now listen closely, a two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives (292 out of 435) along with a two-thirds vote in the Senate (67 out of 100) just to get the amendment to go to the states for a vote. Then it takes three-fourths of the states to ratify it to make it part of our Constitution. That is 38 out of 50 states must say OK to the new law. Can you for even a second believe 2/3 of the House would vote to repeal the Second Amendment even if someone was stupid enough to propose it? The Founders were very smart when it came to the Constitution and they made it very difficult to alter.

So tell me, American public, what is it going to take to get us to change how we look at gun control? I was unfortunate enough to live and teach school about 20 miles from Sandy Hook where, on Dec. 14, 2012, 20 first-graders and six adults were murdered. Can you possibly put yourself in the place of one of those parents? How would you feel? What would your stand be now? We have seen the numbers escalate in the years since so what is next? 100 dead and 750 wounded? 200 dead? 500 dead? When is enough enough?

I am not looking to be a revolutionary on this problem, only a voice of reason. How many deaths will it take? Or will it take the death of someone close to you because all the men, women, and children who have been murdered by people who are obviously deranged or jaded in some way had friends and relatives who were close to them. I pray it doesn’t happen to anyone I know or you know. I do know it WILL happen again. How many will it take, America? —Russ Stilwell Kalispell

Left was afraid of pro-life Roy Moore in Senate

Some years ago, in the state of Alabama, a woman who was a known drug user and who had become pregnant, was arrested for violating a law that said it was a felony offense if anyone used drugs in the presence of a child. The woman who used drugs denied that she ever used them in the presence of a child. The state claimed she had a child in her womb. The woman again denied this, saying essentially that “it was only a blob of flesh.” The case went to the trial court, which ruled against the woman. The case was appealed with the same result.

The case then went to the Alabama Supreme Court, which ruled 8-1 against the defendant. The opinion written by Chief Justice Roy Moore was several pages long. The basic holding, however, can be reduced to one sentence. Moore held that “an unborn baby or a child in the womb is a Person from the moment of conception” and as such is “entitled to the ... Rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, as enumerated in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America.”

As I stated in the beginning, that was some years ago. Now, in the present, Judge Moore has announced his intention to run for the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. Judge Moore’s announcement must have really shaken up the so-called LEFT, particularly the so-called “pro-abortion crowd,” who feared that the Alabama Supreme Court decision that held “an unborn child was a person” could easily be extended to prohibit all abortions.

President Trump, during the presidential campaign identified himself as being PRO-LIFE. Since becoming president, he stated he would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned. It is easy to imagine that happening if Roy Moore is elected to the U.S. Senate. “What to do?” “What to do?” That must have been the cry of the so-called pro-choice groups.

What I wrote in the first four paragraphs was fact. What I write now is conjecture. I believe that some person or persons with a lot of cash, paid several women to accuse Roy Moore of improper sexual abuse allegations. It used to be the basic rule of law, that “a person was innocent until proven guilty.” Now, it appears that the opposite is true; that a person is perceived as guilty until they can prove themselves innocent.

It was amazing to me, to hear so many politicians call for Roy Moore to immediately drop out of the Senate race. Shame on them. Judge Roy Moore has vehemently denied all allegations of sexual abuse. His wife has supported him, saying he has always been a perfect gentleman. I, for one, believe in Roy Moore. Let us not forget that this is the same Roy Moore who was willing to give up his position as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, over a controversy regarding The Ten Commandments. He believes in the Ten Commandments and he authored the most beautiful pro-life legal opinion that I have ever read. That is why I believe and support Roy Moore.

I urge all the good people of Alabama to vote for one of your state’s best: Judge Roy Moore. I truly believe Roy Moore will be a great U.S. senator for Alabama. In closing, I must say I do not know Roy Moore. I have never met Roy Moore; nor have I ever spoken to him. However, between now and the election on Dec. 12, I shall be praying for Roy Moore and his family. —Suzanne Brooks, Whitefish

Garner sold out his constituents

One of the pathetic “defenses” of Gas Tax Garner was that he “went across the aisle” voting with Democrats who consistently raise our taxes and make big government bigger as a “solution” to the huge Montana state deficit.

For this betrayal of his campaign promises, a letter writer called him a “statesman.” A better term is “statist” because, like the Democrats, he voted to strengthen the cost and power of the state. The expense of Medicaid expansion that Mr. Garner voted for in 2015 and the other tax-raising big-government bills Mr. Garner voted for are the main reason for our government deficit.

This is the classic doomed-to-fail strategy of asking the taxpayer to “solve” problems by paying more taxes to feed the big government trough that caused the problems in the first place. Nice try, but there is no excuse for the actions of the likes of Gas Tax Garner. —Frances Young, Lakeside