Newsday letters to the editor for Friday, March 30, 2018

Election inequality harms democracy

Each person’s vote should count equally. The 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United has diluted the value of an individual’s vote [“Limit corporate political spending once again,” Just Sayin’, Feb. 24].

Unfair elections resulted from the influence of super PAC money. My vote supporting a candidate without PAC money is diluted. We have taxation without representation, and maybe we need another Boston Tea Party. Or perhaps we should demand that the names of the corporate PAC backers, and the elected officials or candidates receiving their donations, be revealed. Better still, post the information at town hall meetings with constituents.

Inequality in the election process removes democracy from our country. Overturning Citizens United could level the voting process.

Josephine Tsatsakos, Levittown

The mix of guns, politics and money

I applaud the students and their concern about guns [“Gun-control assemblies an impressive first step,” Editorial, March 27]. I learned to shoot at age 7. I was taught safety and responsibility. I really learned to shoot as a Marine. I hunt and shoot skeet, trap and sporting clays.

Twenty years ago, we didn’t have these awful events. This is a societal problem. If you can stop 60,000 drug overdose deaths a year, I’ll listen to you on stopping illegal guns.

We need societal change, including better discipline, responsibility for our actions and consequences for them. That means mom and dad, not our schools.

Alexander Janow, Northport

First the Women’s March, then the #MeToo movement, and now the March for Our Lives. The tide is turning.

All these movements represent American core values and stand against the “venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption” running amok in the White House, as former CIA Director John Brennan tweeted on March 17.

This is true also for the leadership on Capitol Hill. If I were in a position of power in Washington, I would run for the hills as Americans prepare to take back our country!

Rev. Christopher D. Hofer, Wantagh

Editor’s note: The writer is rector of the Church of St. Jude in Wantagh.

Finally, the country seems to be on the right path when it comes to the proliferation of assault rifles in America. The story about gun manufacturer Remington filing for bankruptcy reorganization because of “slumping sales and legal and financial pressure over the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre” shows that the country, including gun owners, have been speaking out with their money [“Gun firm files for Chap. 11,” News, March 27]. In 2015, Colt Holdings Co. also filed for bankruptcy reorganization.

And the Connecticut Supreme Court is weighing whether to reinstate a lawsuit brought by Sandy Hook families against Remington. A lower court dismissed the suit last year, citing broad immunity granted to the gun industry. After Sandy Hook, some investors began to withdraw holdings in Remington. Change takes time in a democracy, but it happens.

Kudos to people who have kept the pressure on these companies, and those who, led by children, have marched through our tears across this country to end these senseless killings.

Christin M. Veech, Commack

Some men don’t get why ‘sweetie’ offends

“Some men still don’t quite get it” [Opinion, March 25] is right, and they probably never will.

Yes, I have encountered men younger than me who feel compelled to call me sweetheart, young lady, sweetie, babe and other terms. Although I actually believe they think they are complimenting me in some way, I find it demeaning.

I have tried to get back by politely calling them handsome, kid and the like, hoping they will get it, without my having to shout, stop already! It doesn’t seem to sink in, so I just grit my teeth.

Carol Voelger, Syosset

Does society get to decide who lives?

I’m the sibling of a 62-year-old man with Down syndrome and the president of AHRC Nassau, which works with people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.

I read with great sadness how some countries outside the United States are handling the pre-birth of individuals with Down syndrome by aborting the fetuses [“The real Down syndrome ‘problem,’ ” Opinion, March 19].

Do people in these countries remember the Holocaust or, locally, the Willowbrook State School on Staten Island?

Do we as a civilization get to decide who lives and who doesn’t based on how we see them fitting into what we perceive as normal or typical?

I will not pretend that having a sibling with Down syndrome or any other developmental disability isn’t challenging, because it is. However, the unconditional love that I receive and the life lessons I’ve gained over the years far outweigh the negatives.

People with intellectual disabilities often speak from the heart with little filtration, but if you truly listen, you will understand who they are and why they exist. It is our duty to always remember that they must be, and have the right to be, part of our civilization.

Paul Giordano, Westbury