Letters to the Editor: July 22, 2022

Unrestricted access

I would like to respond to former sheriff Lee Vasquez’ letter of July 15:

I absolutely respect the office of sheriff and the dedicated men and women who work there in any capacity. I believe, however, the former sheriff, while he is entitled to his opinion, was misleading.

To begin with, there is no such thing as an “assault weapon.” That terminology is designed to mislead. It should not even be used as a military designation.

Any hand-held weapon which can be used to assault can also be used defensively to counter or prevent an assault. This includes any firearm.

It is the mindset of the individual in possession of the weapon that determines whether it will be used to assault, used to defend against an assault or left unused altogether. That is the crux of the issue.

Those who use “assault weapon” terminology to justify bans or additional restrictions are either trying to mislead their audience intentionally or are themselves misled.

The intent of labeling any firearm as an assault weapon is to ultimately apply that definition to all firearms. Those who deliberately use this misleading terminology are very aware of this.

It is obvious that laws restricting the public’s access to firearms are designed to disarm the population.

These laws further empower government officials and provide criminals a safer environment to conduct criminal activity, meanwhile exposing the law-abiding population to more risk. These laws oppress citizens by infringing on their rights.

Steve Howard

Yamhill

Hard to keep up

What is happening in our country today, with a variety of issues, is confusing and extremely upsetting.

We get a lot of information in a short time about too much, and the media bombards us 24 hours a day with more. Because of this, I believe the information we get is becoming more and more difficult to process.

It’s hard to remember what happened yesterday, or even earlier today.

Our world has changed. It is moving much faster. It seems we have to keep up or be left behind in some non- or limited-functioning space.

By the time I figure out how I think about one crisis, more have already happened. But then, perhaps I am merely complaining about old age.

Janet De With

Yamhill

Issue runs deeper

Donald Trump is not the biggest problem. He’s a symptom of a bigger problem that runs much deeper.

The Jan. 6 Select Committee hearings are touching only the surface if they stop at the events of that day, the focus of Thursday’s committee hearing. The country needs to probe why so many people feel so unheard that they are organizing themselves into groups based on identity politics rather than problem-solving.

Brad Thompson

McMinnville