Sammamish Forum Jan. 30
January 31, 2013
By Administrator
Ace location is a swamp
I am one of the many Sammamish residents who would be unhappy to see Ace Hardware forced out of our community. I’ve relied on them for many years for items needed to complete projects, make repairs, and always appreciate their friendly help.
Being curious to see the proposed relocation site next to Mars Hill Church first-hand, I walked into the accessible parts.
There is so little dry land there that it seems obvious that most of the forested wetland in the area would be totally displaced by the construction of an 11,000 square foot store, parking and loading area.
I’m weighing in to say that this site should be left undisturbed, left to do what it does best: provide natural habitat for the birds, mammals, and aquatic life of Sammamish. No, it’s not pristine, but it does the job.
I would encourage other Sammamish residents to take a first-hand look at the area.
As much as I would like to have Ace stay in our neighborhood, that particular building site is not a feasible choice. There has to be a suitable alternative somewhere in our community.
Alan Mebane
Sammamish
Ban assault weapons
The shootings at a Colorado movie theater (12 died and 58 were injured), at an Oregon mall (three were killed) and at a Connecticut elementary school (20 children died) all had something in common — assault rifles. Because of their ability to kill many people in a short amount of time, such weapons, and the sales of new ones, should be banned.
In the Federal Assault Weapon Ban of 1994-2004, many loopholes allowed manufactures to continue making and selling assault weapons that Congress intended to ban. There should be a new, improved assault weapon ban.
It should be stricter and more explicit. It should ban all weapons capable of holding more than 10 rounds and firing rapidly by pressing the trigger multiple times.
The sale, assembly and modifications of new assault weapons should be banned except for the military and law enforcement. People who have assault weapons would be allowed to surrender them to law enforcement and receive a federal tax credit at the fair market value of the weapon.
They would be allowed to sell their weapon to another private party, if both parties submit documentation to the federal government, and the buyer passes a background check before taking possession.
The federal government should have the right to enter private property and inspect your assault weapon with 72 hours’ notice. This won’t violate the Second Amendment because citizens are still able to own assault weapons.
I agree with the NRA’s statement that, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” but we can’t lock up every mentally ill person. Why do you think these murderers chose assault weapons? It’s because they knew it would kill many people in a short amount of time. This is why I believe there should be a better and stricter new assault weapon ban.
Jared Oh, 16 years old
Sammamish
Gun control not the answer
Just last December kids were innocently penciling cute letters to Santa asking for toys. By mid January, they were writing the president asking for stronger gun control laws. It’s amazing how fast children grow up.
And, of course, they wrote these on their own, with no prompting or help from their parents. The president then publicly read a couple of the children’s letters on national television and even had children staged behind him for the signing of his twenty-three proposed gun law changes.
Then, when a National Rifle Association ad simply pointed out that the school the president’s girls attend is protected by armed guards the media screamed foul, claiming it just wasn’t right interjecting children into gun control “debate.” Anybody else see the hypocrisy here?
For those who don’t think personal firearm ownership can save lives, every month there is a page devoted to just that in an NRA magazine. Go to: www.nrapublications.org/index.php/armed-citizen.
Remember, if a bad guy breaks into your home and seconds count, the police are just minutes away.
Kathy Summerhays
Sammamish
Safety tip for
foggy weather
The recent period of fog that covered the Sammamish Plateau recently proved that too many residents leave their brains in the driveway.
Put your car headlights on when its foggy!
Brian Porter
Sammamish
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One Response to “Sammamish Forum Jan. 30”
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In response to Kathy Summerhays’ letter about gun regulation:
The arguments in this letter highlight some interesting perceptions of risk. The first is the false equivalency of the NRA’s ad. The President and his family are at higher risk of being targeted for harm than the general population, so of course they merit more protection, including his daughters at school. The objection was not, as the letter suggested, about interjecting children into the debate, the objection was about the false equivalency. Should the rest of us also have a 24/7 secret service detail protecting us? Also, the NRA ad was using POTUS’ daughters to criticize the president. It was callous. The President’s reading of letters with children around him was not attacking anyone.
The other point in the letter is about self protection. With over 31,000 gun deaths a year in this country (including accidents, and suicides as well as homicides), one has to wonder which risk is greater: the chance you will face a dangerous intruder, or you or someone in your family being harmed by your own gun? Does the NRA include THOSE statistics? I don’t doubt that guns can and do deter and protect people from violent attacks I think people should be able to own a gun for protection.
But I also think that the NRA is distorting the perception of the risks of owning guns versus the risk of needing a gun for self protection, whether it be from a criminal or “the government” turning on its citizenry. The fact that “law abiding, responsible gun owners” are sometimes involved in homicides, suicides and gun accidents needs to be taken seriously. In addition, the NRA is fomenting a weird perception that somehow law-abiding gun owners are at risk if we put in place common sense regulations such as a reliable and comprehensive background check system and restrict ownership of weapons and ammunition designed for soldiers. The more guns there are, because people are frightened of intruders and deranged mass killers, the more the real risk of people getting injured by guns. What a sad irony.