Letters

Published
June 25, 2016

Letter to the editor: Assault rifles have a place if terrorists have worse weapons

Way back in the 1950s, when I was a young whippersnapper living on and working at Loring Air Force Base as a civilian employee of the Department of Defense, I owned what is now called an “assault weapon.” It was a Winchester .308-caliber, semi-automatic rifle. Little did I imagine then that 60 years later I […]
Published
June 25, 2016

Letter to the editor: How many mass shootings would Collins’ bill have stopped?

I read with great interest about U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ proposal to ban gun purchases by people on the “no fly” and “selectee” lists – about 2,700 people, according to a June 22 Press Herald report. It would be instructive to know how many of the mass shooters of the last five years would have […]
Published
June 25, 2016

Letter to the editor: Lack of preschool doesn’t doom children to failure

Regarding the June 20 column “Maine Voices: Prioritizing early childhood education would pay off for children, Maine,” I’m not sure I knew there was such thing as an alphabet when I entered first grade. I had attended kindergarten in a different state, where the focus was on social skills. With remedial help, though, I quickly […]
Published
June 25, 2016

Letter to the editor: There are ways to make assault rifles unwanted

Gun control groups are going about this all wrong. Instead of trying to figure out who can or can’t own an assault rifle (and in my mind, the answer should be nobody), simply require manufacturers to paint any assault rifle sold legally in this country a glow-in-the-dark fluorescent pink color. Or better yet, require the […]
Published
June 25, 2016

Letter to the editor: Kudos to Portland for honoring former city manager

Kudos to the Portland City Council on naming the corner of Middle and Temple streets as the John E. Menario Plaza. This is well-deserved and long-overdue recognition for one of Portland’s premier leaders of our time. John Menario set the table for today’s Portland, and to fully appreciate his impact, one would need to have […]

Published
June 24, 2016

Letter to the editor: Preschool teachers deserve living wage

Thank you for your recent editorial “Our View: Strong preschool programs require equal pay for Maine’s early learning educators” (June 16) and for your continued focus on the vital needs of Maine’s preschoolers and their families. Low pay for pre-kindergarten teachers has been a longstanding issue confronting the field. I generally tell my students to […]
Published
June 24, 2016

Letter to the editor: M.D. Harmon speaks of protecting gays – a shocker

It’s fascinating to see M.D. Harmon finally mention a gay person in a positive context. In his June 17 column, he approvingly quotes Gwendolyn Patton, a spokesperson for an LGBTQ gun-rights group who wants to see “designated carriers” in places where gay people congregate. In everything else he’s written in the Press Herald, Harmon treats […]
Published
June 24, 2016

Letter to the editor: Homophobic shooter in Orlando undeniably targeted gay community

I am appalled that there is anger at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people for stating that the Orlando attack was specifically targeting that community. Any claim otherwise is utterly without merit. Omar Mateen walked into a gay club to shoot as many gay and lesbian people he could. This was not a random […]
Published
June 24, 2016

Letter to the editor: ‘Go purple’ to galvanize Alzheimer’s research

Families across this nation understand that Alzheimer’s disease is not only devastating but also fatal. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S., and unlike any other cause of death among the top 10, there’s no way to prevent, stop or even slow its progression. Nearly one in every five Medicare dollars is […]
Published
June 24, 2016

Letter to the editor: Republican attempt to block Trump by changing convention rules insults voters

I am not a Republican and certainly not a Donald Trump fan. It is sad that the Republicans couldn’t field a more qualified presidential candidate. Having said that, I find it an affront to our democracy and an insult to voters in the primaries that Republican leaders are contemplating blocking Trump’s nomination by changing the […]

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Letters