Letters to the Editor: Police patrolling schools, climate change, NRA

January 9, 2013

Police patrolling schools

Posting police guards at our elementary schools is a waste of time and resources. There's no credible threat to harm any schoolchildren in Orange County, and if there were, then the psycho would just find another place to attack them.

If they aren't going to guard all the schools, including charter and private schools, then why not? Are some children more important? Unfortunately, if school officials don't do anything and something were to happen, there would be heck to pay.

A more intelligent approach would be to have roving officers check on schools at random. Even officers who are not assigned to do this could stop by schools on their regular patrols. Officers walking the halls, sitting in their cars or patrolling the front office or the lunch rooms would find it tiresome. You can't stay on constant vigilant patrol if there really is no threat.

The young man who killed 26 people in Newtown, Conn., last month had mental problems; yet his mother was allowed to have weapons in her house. Ensuring that people with assault weapons are registered and routinely checking to make sure no mentally unstable people or criminals are able to access the guns would be prudent.

Paul Harris Oviedo

Concerning Lake County School Board member Bill Mathias' suggestion to arm teachers and principals in Lake County ("Lake official: Arm teachers," Orlando Sentinel, Tuesday):

Maybe we should first ask teachers, principals and the sheriff what they think. Let's look at other ideas before we turn Lake County into the Third World.

Frank Wood Eustis

I don't agree with having cops on school campuses, and instead of arming all teachers, I would rather see teachers who have concealed-weapons permits being allowed to have guns at school. If every teacher had a weapon and kids knew it, that would be another fiasco.

Our family has plenty of guns. My son, who is 16, knows how to shoot squirrels, and I like skeet. We have a big safe for all the guns that my son can't get into. That's the most important thing.

Judith Oliver Leesburg

On climate change: Listen to the experts

In his letter to the editor on Saturday, Mike Garrett writes, "Man has very little, if any, effect over the temperature of the earth." On what science does Garrett base this claim?

Certainly, cyclical temperature variations have been occurring, which have caused the changes in glaciation that carved those majestic mountains Garrett mentioned.

Certainly, noncyclical temperature variations, such as volcanic eruptions, have been happening. The Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991 lowered global temps somewhat from 1991-93. Most climatologists have concluded that the current rise in atmospheric greenhouse-gas levels is anthropogenic, caused mainly by the burning of sequestered carbon (oil, gas and coal).

I am not a climatologist. It makes sense to listen to the experts in their field. Who would need to say that man is affecting the temperature of the earth for Garrett to believe it?

Steve Specht Kissimmee

Equal opportunities for achieving wealth

Marvin Jacobson's letter to the editor in Saturday's Sentinel laments the fact that "our wealth has moved to the top and left so many with so little ..."

Apparently, Jacobson subscribes to the class-warfare theory of economics promoted by liberals that the acquisition of wealth by one individual can be achieved only at the expense of someone else.

Our economy is not a "zero-sum" proposition. When Warren Buffett or Bill Gates makes another billion dollars, that does not mean that my income goes down proportionately. In fact, if I were smart enough to invest in whatever they were doing to achieve that wealth, I would benefit from their accomplishments.

We used to applaud financial success in this country. Lately, we spend way too much time demonizing it.

The answer to our economic woes is not to bring down those at the top, but rather to lift up those at the bottom. That said, we should never strive to ensure equal outcomes, only equal opportunities.

Brian Smith Oviedo

NRA member has ideas to curb violence

Here are two solutions to gun violence from an NRA life member:

First, amend the form required to purchase a gun by adding a waiver to medical-privacy laws concerning mental health of the recipient and a requirement providing information on any family members living in the household that have been adjudicated as having a condition that could pose a threat to the public.

Second, provide free instant background-check booths at gun shows for private sellers, as well as liability protection once a sale has been made and a check conducted.

These solutions would provide far more protection per dollar than any current proposals. They should be agreeable to a majority of those of us who support the Second Amendment.

Bill Huff Orlando

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