Marriage Act: No, my senator didn’t betray the values of NC voters

Tillis and Burr

Regarding “Tillis explains his role in crafting Respect for Marriage bill,” (Dec. 19):

Sen. Thom Tillis’ support for the Respect for Marriage Act led Tami Fitzgerald of the N.C. Values Coalition to assert that Tillis has betrayed the “values” of N.C. voters who sent him to Washington to do their bidding.

Not so fast, Ms. Fitzgerald! The senator actually honored the values of the majority of North Carolinians by voting to protect the rights of all. His support of the Respect for Marriage Act is an example of moral leadership and bipartisan governance. Thank you, Sen. Tillis.

Thanks also to Sen. Richard Burr for supporting the bipartisan gun safety bill Congress passed earlier this year. I’m grateful that our senators supported common sense protections for the innocent.

Kate Faherty, Hillsborough

A GOP president

There are a lot of Democrats looking for a presidential candidate other than Joe Biden or Kamala Harris, and who might consider a Republican candidate, but not Trump. The GOP needs to identify and promote a more moderate candidate for the good of us all.

Larry Mobley, Hendersonville

Child tax credit

I am disappointed that Congress did not include an extension of the Child Tax Credit in the stopgap spending bill. When the issue comes up again next year, I urge U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross and Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd to support extending the CTC and reinstating monthly payments in 2023. We saw how effective the payments were in 2021 when over 40% of families were lifted above the poverty level. It’s time to bring them back and make the CTC fully refundable so those with lower wages can claim the full amount of credit.

Patti Maxwell, Cary

Pedestrian deaths

Recent media coverage has rightly shone a light on the increase in pedestrian deaths in our state. On April 6, 2016, I was a pedestrian hit by a car near the legislative complex in Raleigh. I lived to tell the tale, but I continue to deal with long-term effects.

More must be done to make Raleigh safer for pedestrians. More obvious flashing lights and audible warnings to drivers and pedestrians come to mind. The biggest obstacle is the lack of attention paid by drivers and pedestrians alike, often due to cellphone use. And some pedestrians make poor decisions about where and when to cross busy roads.

Public service announcements and better education, including during driver’s ed courses, would raise awareness. I pray that no other pedestrians go through my experience or are killed. Almost all pedestrian deaths are preventable.

Evelyn Hawthorne, Raleigh

Guns

Regarding Leonard Pitts “Mass shootings: It’s time to stop asking ‘why?’” (Dec. 4 Opinion):

Leonard Pitts is correct — in our warped society guns are the great equalizers, giving the powerless and the kooks and the fringe members of society a chance to be noticed, albeit in a shameful way.

Since our spineless representatives in Washington, D.C. have declined to pass laws limiting access to firearms, I would suggest that one practical way to reduce the number of massacres would be for the media to deny instant gratification to the shooters by refusing to publish their names or details of their unhappy childhoods or theories about what led them to their evil act. None of that matters. The press must deny the killers the status and immortality they seek.

Jonathan Agronsky, Pinehurst

Raleigh housing

The writer is co-chair of the Mordecai Historic Preservation Committee.

Regarding “Oakwood neighbors want to buy city parking lot to preserve historic homes,” (Dec. 21):

The real estate manager for the city of Raleigh said the nonprofit Society for the Preservation of Historic Oakwood’s below-market offer to buy a parking lot for relocating historic homes presents the city with “competing priorities.” But historic preservation doesn’t compete with affordable housing, as developers aren’t building anything affordable after these tear-downs. The money the city would gain from a market-rate sale in this case is minimal given the scope of Raleigh’s affordability crisis.

In most areas of Raleigh, older homes are actually cheaper homes because they are generally smaller with fewer perceived amenities. Preserving older homes and districts (often to preserve Raleigh’s history, as in the case of Dr. Hubert Royster’s home) should continue to be a part of the city’s vision for making Raleigh more economically inclusive. So should keeping longtime homeowners in their older homes and building new affordable homes.

Maggie Fyfe, Raleigh

Old age

The author of “What’s so great about living to the age of 100?” (Dec. 18 Opinion) seems to suggest that old age is no longer desirable if there’s no fun in it. I’m 91 years old and I don’t feel comfortable with that view. I prefer to believe that life is of itself valuable and desirable, even if it is toil and labor and entails a lot of suffering at the latter stages, rather than fun. Blessed are the ones who are able to gratefully accept life as a gift from God, irrespective of its so-called quality.

Bill Grothmann, Raleigh