Richland soldier backs WA assault weapons ban, another letter on drag show controversy | Opinion

Assault weapons ban due

In America, the list of gun deaths cascades from most news sources, like a 1920s stock ticker tape. Only we’re not having a parade, we’re having countless funeral processions.

I am a gun owner, I am currently serving in the U.S. Army and I have deployed to Afghanistan. You would think I might be against Gov. Inslee’s recently passed gun ban.

Like 61% of the country, I support an assault weapon ban. I renounce my Second Amendment. I shouldn’t have any more “right” to a gun, than I do a driver’s license.

Lets be honest: Americans just like assault weapons. They’re fun. They’re great for shooting beer cans, according to Kid Rock, but they’re also great for killing lots of people quickly. (FYI, that’s why they’re used by the military.)

The Declaration of Independence includes language about the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The First Amendment protects our freedom of assembly and speech.

These rights are useless to your children when they are cowering in the corner of their classrooms.

I am tired of being held hostage by the 7% of Americans that are NRA members.

This is the definition of insanity!

Thank you, Mr. Inslee.

Jack Sakana, Richland

Richardson is caring person

Theresa Richardson (Richland mayor pro team) is probably the kindest, most caring, and compassionate woman I have ever met. As a former chairman of the board for a local Christian school, it was my pleasure to work with her as our development director. She embodies the honesty, integrity, teamwork and fairness we seek to instill in our children — including standing up to those that would seek to demean women and groom children.

Even though the Tri-City Herald states “men have been performing as women for centuries,” that is no criteria. Men have been demeaning and abusing women for centuries too. An NPR/Ipsos poll shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) are opposed to allowing transgender women and girls to compete on teams that align with their gender identity. Men masquerading as women is not a crime — but neither are a lot of things we find depraved and we are going to see a lot worse in the future as man descends into the abyss.

Steve Panther, West Richland

New IRS agents no help to most

On March 26, Mickey Beary penned a letter in the Tri-City Herald attacking Republicans for voting to stop the hiring of 87,000 new auditing and enforcement IRS agents. Mickey falsely claimed that the boost in IRS funding was for increasing audits on the wealthy, but in practice it’s been proven that IRS audits disproportionately target the middle and lower classes.

For argument’s sake, put aside the fact that the IRS disproportionately targets working class Americans, for a second and ask yourself why, especially given all of the wasteful spending in the past two years, that we should celebrate the idea of boosting the size, scope and power of the federal government’s tax collection agency at all? Mickey and the Democratic Party in general appear to have the misguided viewpoint that Americans’ hard-earned money belongs to the government by default.

Once again, Republicans have proved they are the true defenders of working-class Americans. I appreciate Congressman Dan Newhouse for introducing and helping pass the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act so regular Americans can keep more of their own money.

Morgen Jacobs, Richland