Readers sound off on the American experiment, the Second Amendment and Ukraine – New York Daily News

Manhattan: After the massacre in a Texas elementary school on the heels of a massacre in a Buffalo supermarket, I thought I may have to pull up stakes and leave this country. Then I thought about it again and realized I dont have to leave, I just have to support the end of the great experiment known as the United States of America.

I want to live in a land that respects the right of women to have autonomy over their own lives and bodies and to have the right to make medical decisions without government interference unless it impacts the health and well-being of fellow citizens. I want to live in a land that follows the same successes as almost all other industrialized nations when it comes to gun violence by enacting strong laws that make it nearly impossible for private citizens to own weapons whose only function is to kill as many living beings as possible. I want to live in a land where truth is truth and alternate facts are not facts at all, but lies. I want to live in a land where common sense prevails rather than the loudest voice. I want to live in a land where citizens do not ignore science even when it leads to their own demise.

Divided we fall. (Shutterstock)

Its time to divide this country into two lands governed separately. Id be happy to live in the United States of Blue and tackle the issues those states have rather than try to compromise with those whose ideology is the polar opposite of mine. Elizabeth Winters

Somerset, N.J.: In the past week, with all the bad news and divisiveness in the United States, former President Donald Trump said our country is going to hell. What he didnt say was that so much of it was because of himself. Instead of fading away and being a bad memory, he and his diminishing following continue to divide the country and try to wreck any progress in our society. When Congress passed the much-needed infrastructure bill with great input from President Biden, Trump said the Republican congresspeople were stupid because it made the Democrats look good. Thats how this egomaniac thinks. He could care less about the betterment of our country. Fortunately, more and more people realize this and he will probably be a non-factor by 2024. Arthur Bressler

Yonkers: This school shooting comes at a perfect time for Democrats. Now they can get the countrys focus off of President Bidens failed handling of gas prices, food prices and baby formula shortages. Ted Bernhardi

Brooklyn: To Voicer Patricia N. Ravel: What you say might work in a perfect world. Not in todays times. To the gun shop owners, money trumps people any day. Imagine these shop owners losing money heaven forbid. Josie Oliveri

Flushing: In Leonard Greenes column (Shame on the NRA, enough is enough, May 29) he speaks about the possibility that if the Founders had known about 30-40 round magazines and mass shootings, they might have thought twice about the Second Amendment. Maybe the Founders were smarter than we realize. The Second Amendment speaks about the right to bear arms, but it does not say all or any type of arms, meaning that some limits on the type of arms can be implied. The conservatives always talk about being textual and not creating rights that the Constitution does not actually include. There is no mention in the Constitution of assault weapons or high-capacity magazines. Isnt it logical to assume that the right to own assault weapons does not exist? Stu Brustein

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Staten Island: Mayor Adams, it is not about how the NYPD would handle a shooting incident. Children were murdered because of the lack of action by police officers. You and other mayors will brainstorm to try and solve the gun violence problem. My opinion is that this violence will never be solved. My biggest query is why are answers always looked for after the tragedy? Why were answers not found before the spike in the violence and before the rise in school shootings? There were Columbine and other school shootings and there were no answers. Is it truly possible to stop this? Jeffrey Van Pelt

Smithtown, L.I.: The New York City motto should be Land of the Free and Home of the Very Brave. Allen Brown

Old Bethpage, L.I.: Re Adams wings clipped on school control (June 1): Once again, there is no mention of teachers being part of the governing power of the educational system. This bill says it will prevent appointees from stepping out of line. Really? What does that mean exactly? Why appoint them in the first place? Adams says he is a graduate of city schools. So what!? Is that his claim to fame for deciding policy? I too am a graduate but I dont have the expertise to govern, nor does he. There is an effort to decrease the number of children in a classroom wonderful idea, but where are the empty rooms to accommodate them? There arent any. I really hope that the new appointees know what they are doing for the students and are not being political pawns. Adrienne Horowitz

New Rochelle: To Voicer Betty E. Weisblum: Thank you for your compassionate response to my recent letter. Your comments represent the views of many in our nation and I understand your concerns and your viewpoints. Let me tell you that I am not positing a theocracy. My views are a need for morals and values found in Jesus as the basis for governance and community life. Sadly, it is clear that these have not been followed by leaders, followers or citizens of any nation to the degree that would acerbate and heal many of the problems we face today. Your examples are evidence of this failure as well as the continuing search of many people to exist safely today. Jesus was a rabbinical Jew who formed a new path. We must work together and be God willing surprised by hope. Warren D. Gross

Itasca, Ill.: A friend of mine once wondered if Americas ill-fated commitment in Vietnam led to the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union and kept us out of a deadlier war later. Would several hundred thousand lives saved worldwide be worth the approximately 58,000 American soldiers lost in Vietnam? Id hate to make that argument before a family who lost a loved one in Vietnam, or a veteran still carrying scars from that conflict. Gen. Colin Powell said, No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. America learned that the hard way in the jungles of Vietnam, as did Russia in Afghanistan. Vietnam moments arent unique to the United States, we just land on our feet better. Whatever happens in Ukraine will be messy, but Im guessing most global observers would rather be America than Russia right now. Jim Newton

Hewitt, N.J.: I understand that Billy-Boy de Blasio plans to run for Congress. Who is going to vote for him? Perhaps his wife and kids! Elaine Young

Bronx: I am so tired of Voicers equating a womans right to choose with vaccine requirements. They feel that my body, my choice should apply equally to both situations. What they dont seem to understand is that you cant stand next to or breathe on someone and make them pregnant, whereas you can spread COVID-19, thereby overtaxing our hospital system by not getting vaccinated. One is a public health issue where the good of the many outweighs the desire of the individual. But we are a selfish society and many dont see it that way at all. Remember that with freedom comes responsibility. Dr. Anthony Fauci is right: If polio had struck in todays environment, we would never be able to eradicate it. Carol Webb

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Readers sound off on the American experiment, the Second Amendment and Ukraine - New York Daily News