Letters: Nevada range war

Re “BLM relents after standoff,” April 13

Relenting to the demands of the armed supporters of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who has his cattle graze on public land but refuses to pay the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, sends a dangerous message: that disputes with the federal government are best resolved with threats of violence.

This outcome will only inspire more radicals to take arms against the U.S. government. This is a serious setback for civil discourse and undermines the rule of law that all citizens need for safety and stability.

Are these people and their supporters really willing to transform this nation into a banana republic ruled by upstart militias?

The federal government ultimately answers to the American people and a coherent set of laws and regulations. Militias, like the one that stared down the BLM on behalf of Bundy, are armed mobs that answer only to themselves.

Greg Seyranian

Redondo Beach

The federal government’s message: If you are an angry white guy with a gun, then you are free to break federal laws.

For 21 years, this angry white guy has broken the law by using our collective lands without paying and without permission, and in the meantime causing environmental damage. But since he and his cohorts don’t like the laws and brandish guns, well, we’ll just let it go.

Seems there is still plenty of “separate but equal” in this country.

Alice P. Neuhauser

Manhattan Beach

It is rare that we get essentially the same news story from three continents on the same day.

There are armed rebels in Libya engaged in smuggling, extortion and stealing from the government. There are armed groups in Ukraine engaged in intimidation and defying the government. There are armed gangs in Nevada defying the government to protect the theft of natural resources from the American people. In all of these, the armed gangs are driven by power and money, not freedom.

The student in Tripoli quoted in a separate article published on the same day said it best: “Nothing can change for the better until the weapons are gone.”

Keith Price

Los Angeles

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