Anti-gun crowd will never give up
Regarding the recent Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment:
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, affirmed what we gun owners have known for many years. The right to keep and bear arms applies to the people of this country, not just the militia or National Guard, as some have implied. It puzzles me how four obviously intelligent people could not figure that out.
Thomas Jefferson: “No free man shall be debarred the use of arms.”
James Madison: “Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust people with arms.”
John Adams: “Arms in the hands of individual citizens may be used at individual discretion in private self defense.”
Sam Adams: “The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”
Watching and listening to the pundits discuss what the decision meant is sometimes laughable and at other times appalling.
The most important part of the decision is that for the first time, it clarifies the point that citizens have a right to keep and bear arms subject to “reasonable restrictions.” Those restrictions will be the subject of many debates in the future. In the meantime, we should all rejoice in the fact that five Supreme Court justices were smart enough to understand what the Founding Fathers wanted to accomplish when they wrote the Constitution.
The addition of Justice Alito and Chief Justice Roberts is what turned the tide in our favor. Keep this in mind when you go to the polls in November. Presidents come and go, but Supreme Court justices sit on the bench for decades. They are instrumental in determining the direction our country will take.
We should all be pleased that we won one, but do not become complacent. The anti-gun crowd will not give up and we must maintain our vigilance. There will be other battles to fight in the future.
Dave Nickerson, Victor
President can affect gun rights
In Mr. Yeat’s letter of July 4, he refers at least four times to dumb and ignorant. Me thinks he doth protest too much. If he believes that a president does not have the ability to “take away your guns,” then he is ignorant of the workings of our government. He might remember that presidents, and only presidents, provide the names of Supreme Court nominees, and the wisdom of our current Supreme Court in upholding the Second Amendment ... which by the way, makes no reference to only one handgun per month or to how a gun must “look” ... only prevailed by a 5-4 margin.
L. J. Martin, Clinton
Mission has done much good
Regarding the Poverello/community meeting facilitated by Mayor John Engen on June 25, 2008:
I am the director of Missoula 3:16 Rescue Mission and was in attendance, along with several board members and staff. I heard many negative comments about the Mission and the people who we serve. I only wish to respond with a reminder of the positive aspects that Missoula 3:16 offers to the community.
In 1999, Missoula 3:16 began reaching out to needy people in Missoula who were falling through the cracks of area social services and churches. We chose the area on Toole because that is where many of the people who needed services were already residing - the homeless, working poor and elderly. For the past eight years, we have offered food, clothing, fellowship, spiritual counseling, referrals to many other agencies and daytime shelter to thousands. Many of these people were denied services at other shelters in town because of their behavior.
The Mission has kept hundreds of people off the streets of downtown Missoula and out of local parks. Where would these people have gone when asked to leave the Poverello Center during the day, or when they were on their 30-day out rotation?
On a deeper level, there are men who came to us as homeless addicts and are now living clean and sober lives, working and paying their fair share of taxes. These are men who are no longer causing problems for the city or the neighborhood - this is our mission.
I understand the concern for safety in and around the footbridge and the neighborhood and I am more than willing to work with the community in finding solutions, but cannot take full responsibility for who occupies a city bridge.
Please remember the good we have done.
Pamela Herbst, Missoula
Greed makes people lack sensitivity
Trapping animals is very cruel and painful to the animals ensnared. I don’t understand people who condone this type of cruelty. I am especially concerned that my own government permits this to happen. That type of cruelty isn’t allowed to happen to domestic pets because of the torture involved. Wild animals feel pain and suffer just like people and our pets.
How cold-hearted trappers must be to inflict so much suffering on innocent animals. It must be about money. In my experience, greed makes people lack sensitivity. It’s sad. I’ve been in Montana my whole life and have seen trapped animals. Not a pretty sight.
Sherron Mitchell, Missoula
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