Letters for June 11: Let’s hope others copy Grove Church and its $20K gas giveaway – The Virginian-Pilot

Re Portsmouth church to give away $20K worth of gas Saturday (March 30): As an adult college student who works 40 hours a week, I was pleasantly surprised about the gas funds. Since January, gas, rent, property taxes and food prices have risen tremendously. I remember when I first started to drive in 2010. Gas prices were $2.77 a gallon.

To have the Grove Church volunteer to help the struggling community is amazing. I hope other churches or businesses see this and are inspired to do the same. This idea would lighten the burden from peoples wallets and pocketbooks.

Maria Godfrey, Chesapeake

Re Pedestrian deaths reach record highs in Norfolk despite citys initiative to reduce fatalities (June 2): A week or so ago, I was proceeding down a city street and came to a spot with cars parked on both sides of the street, another car approaching, and a pedestrian walking in the street, around the parked car on my side of the street. There really wasnt enough room for both parked cars, both traveling vehicles and also the pedestrian. I honked my horn at the pedestrian, and he glared at me as if I was the one at fault.

There is a city ordnance against impeding traffic by walking in the street when there is a sidewalk available. However, I see pedestrians walking in the street every day, ignoring the sidewalks. My only conclusion is that they are candidates for a Darwin Award.

Weekly

The week's top opinion content and an opportunity to participate in a weekly question on a topic that affects our region.

William Melgaard, Hampton

President Joe Biden pledged more than a month ago, and I quote, to work like the devil to bring gas prices down to ease the hardship on the working and blue collar residents of our country. For after all the Democratic Party is the party of the working class, the blue collar workers who are the very backbone of our economy and country, but alas circumstances beyond his control have prevented the keeping of promises made.

Who could have predicted the Ukrainians successful and fierce defense of their country against the Russian invasion or the reluctance of the foreign oil-producing countries to flood the market with their oil to lower the price of crude oil as requested by our president? All of these reasons for the current administrations lack of fulfillment of its promise to deliver lower gas prices to the American public would be mute if Biden would work smarter, not harder by allowing oil companies to easily drill for oil on publicly owned land and to begin work again on the Keystone XL pipeline extension. I think you will find the most effective solutions to the oil supply problem are here within our countrys boundaries. Oil independence is the key to a prosperous and secure America.

L.P. Howell, Yorktown

Re Regulate ammo (Your Views, June 6): Walter Coopers letter seems to have hit upon a novel solution to the problem of violence in America: ignore the Constitution. OK, lets see how that works. There are 27 amendments. Which other one would you like to ignore? How about the First Amendment, as another writer on the same page, Social media, seemed to suggest needed tweaking to be read, suppressed. There would be no more letters to the editor; no newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, etc., except those allowed by government; no more expressing ones opinion in public; no more criticism of government; etc.

Cooper cites government regulation of tobacco and alcohol as examples of successful restraints on society. Funny, I cant find any constitutional right to those products. Maybe my copy of that document is a misprint. How secure in your home (Fourth Amendment) would you be if government were allowed to ignore the Constitution? If it can ignore the Second Amendment, it can ignore the other 26. Government has a veracious appetite. Be careful what you wish for. Semper Fi.

Jim Lewallen, Chesapeake

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Letters for June 11: Let's hope others copy Grove Church and its $20K gas giveaway - The Virginian-Pilot