Mailbag: Gun opponent left out ‘of the people’

I would like to correct Robert Morrison’s version of the 2nd Amendment, which he seems to have conveniently misquoted to suit his opinion (“Argument against household guns,” July 8).

The actual version reads: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

He seems to have forgotten an important part, the part that reads “of the people” It’s a shame that he tries to stereotype pro-gun Americans with his sarcastic fantasy perception of air-shooting, neighbor-killing maniacs.

Unlike his opinion that everyone should be forced to follow his personal opinion and be denied access to guns, Americans were affirmed their right to own a handgun for protection. Those who believe in “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed” didn’t try to pass a law that said everyone must follow our beliefs and be required to own a gun.

He is free to choose not to take up that right. I would appreciate it if he wouldn’t deny me my right.

Michael Baldridge

Glendale

Pedestrians: Tread carefully in crosswalks

I was surprised by the June 30 article, “Two pedestrians hit in crosswalk.” Even though Glendale police are monitoring the traffic much more than before, a significant numbers of collisions appear to still be occurring in Glendale recently.

Motorists don’t follow speed limits, and pedestrians don’t use crosswalks carefully. Glendale police have started giving tickets to motorists and pedestrians much more than before. However, in many of recent collisions, motorists and pedestrians were involved.

I feel that I now need to be more careful even in a crosswalk.

Arian Ghazari

Glendale

Nursing graduates have better times ahead

To all recent nursing graduates: Do not be discouraged by the current lack of nursing positions (“Nursing aspirations,” July 9).

In my 38 years in nursing, I have seen a number of shortage to excess cycles come and go. The situation is always the same. There is a shortage of nurses, which inspires a number of people to select this career.

Then situations change that cause a temporary over-supply. Nursing school enrollment drops, the supply of nurses dwindles, and the whole cycle repeats.

The current excess is a phenomenon of the economic crisis. Nurses are delaying retirement or working additional hours. Nurses who would otherwise not even be in the workforce are working in order to support their families.

When the economy improves, nurses will be leaving the profession in droves. Once again, hospitals will be competing to hire new graduates and other inexperienced nurses.

You have selected a noble and rewarding profession that will eventually bring great job satisfaction, security and decent economic reward. Just hang in there.

Tom Harris

Montrose

Too many bad drivers have licenses

There are more accidents in Glendale than in most cities of similar size. Even though we have a lot of police in Glendale giving people tickets seemingly every second, people still don’t know how to drive carefully.

There are so many bad drivers in Glendale that I’m often surprised how they were permitted to get a driver’s license. Driving test givers at the Department of Motor Vehicles should be more strict because they just make places like Glendale worse by letting really bad drivers get their licenses.

In my opinion, it is the driver’s responsibility to always watch out for pedestrians. This person in the article was lucky that she didn’t kill those two people that she hit on the crosswalk (“Man, woman hit in crosswalk,” June 30) because the penalty for killing a pedestrian in a crosswalk can carry a long prison term.

We shouldn’t only be careful of not breaking traffic laws, but also watching out for all the bad drivers and the jaywalkers.

Nareh Bodaghian

Glendale