LETTERS: 14th Amendment, Vietnam vets, Huntington Station
14th Amendment not as valid today
James Anaya, Gabriel J. Chin and Paul Finkelman's stand on illegal immigration based on their ancestral history and the 14th Amendment is without merit ["The faces of the 14th Amendment," Opinion, Sept. 3].
Our forefathers saw that changes might arise, hence the procedure for constitutional amendments. Just because the 14th Amendment was appropriate 150 years ago does not mean that it is as valid today.
The writers cannot justify their ancestors' illegal entry into the United States either based on their standing today. Is it justified for the burglar to steal a computer because his children need it for schoolwork? Just as there are avenues to get a computer, there are the provisions to enter our country legally.
Michael J. Genzale
Belated welcome for Marine veteran
With regard to the letter writer who, in contrast to a Long Island Marine's recent homecoming, received an inglorious re-entry from Vietnam in 1967 ["No hero's welcome home from Vietnam," Letters, Sept. 3]: That same thing happened to me in 1968 when I came home on leave from Vietnam.
When my plane landed at Kennedy Airport I was walking to baggage claim in my Navy "dress blues" when I thought that someone sneezed. When I looked down and noticed that someone had spit on me, I wondered why. When I told my father what had happened he said that the war was unpopular and that we were called baby killers. I would like to welcome home the veteran who wrote the letter.
Joseph G. Opatovsky Jr.
Levy seeks solutions in Huntington Station
Newsday's editorial "Just one step in Huntington," [Editorial, Aug. 27] incorrectly suggested that Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy opposes a proposal for enhanced protection in Huntington Station.
The county executive has erected surveillance cameras in the area and supports proposals for more. He placed a full-time police officer at a town annex, placed additional patrols throughout the night and implemented a new foot patrol post. He is open to the ShotSpotter gunshot-location system proposal, but insists that evidence be produced to show the technology is not faulty and doesn't waste resources through false alarms.
The county executive is not being overly frugal; he is insisting that our resources be directed toward proposals that actually work.
Dan Aug
Editor's note: The writer is press secretary for Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy.
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