You've Been Spotted: Ten Top Women
Bombers visit injured hockey player
.JPG)
Rachael Ray coming to area
YOUR LETTERS
Stop replaying killer's actions; Ohioans are sitting ducks; 'Embraced' wasn't the right word
Monday, December 17, 2007
Stop replaying killer's actions
Once again, the United States has suffered a tragedy in which a disturbed young person with a gun takes the life of innocent people with the intent of becoming "famous." Robert Hawkins killed eight people in a twisted attempt for attention at a shopping mall on Dec. 5.
Extras
Hawkins had a history of depression, drug use and time with foster parents and treatment centers, but the most challenging problem is that the media are making him famous, just like he hoped. Why must we be bombarded with the replaying of the security video of Hawkins coming off the elevator with his gun drawn and firing?
I can appreciate the importance of reporting the news, but replaying this story could be positive reinforcement for another troubled youth who also wants to be famous at any cost.
It was obvious the system failed Hawkins, but please stop showing other disturbed people that they can be famous, too.
Kathleen Keeley
Vandalia
Ohioans are sitting ducks
While we can admire Jeanne Assam as a heroine whose actions saved lives, let's keep in mind that, in Ohio, she'd be facing a jail term right about now. In Ohio, taking a gun into a church is generally against the law, even with a conceal-carry permit.
Ohio is effectively a "sitting duck" state: If shots ring out in your church, or in most other public places, your only legal recourse is to run, hide, pray and basically kiss your butt good-bye. Police will almost certainly arrive too late to save you.
It is time to revisit Ohio's insane conceal-carry laws and remove the restrictions. Responsible, armed adult citizens such as Jeanne Assam are not a danger. When you are confronted with a life-threatening situation, she may be the only chance you have of getting out alive.
Siobhan Semmett
Centerville
'Embraced' wasn't the right word
Re "It's the law: Mom may have to leave kids," Dec. 9: Mary McCarty wrote, "Sami Hamdi could be a poster child for the way children with Down syndrome are embraced in American society." Pardon me? "Embraced" isn't the word I would choose, when many American children prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. Forget the fact that the test is often wrong.
It seems to me that the only difference between the United States and Morocco is that our Down syndrome children are killed before birth, rather than after.
Colleen Sollinger
Dayton
