Letters to the Editor 2017-11-09

NO TO ONE GRO

Hopefully the voters of Creswell will say no to One Gro (“Campaigning in Creswell,” Oct. 5). A corporate monopoly on a dispensary in that locale is unnecessary. Let other players get into that market.

I am concerned about plantations and where these corporations set up shop on quite a few city blocks, as in Eugene. Cultivation is okay, but this is a new venture in this state

William O’Brien, Eugene

DEFAZIO AND GUNS

Now is the time for Rep. Peter DeFazio to do something on gun control. In 2016 he received a 21 percent approval rating from the NRA — not exactly their best friend, but not their worst enemy either. If he and other like-minded representatives would take a leadership role, a bill could get through the house.

And that bill can be as simple as a ban on bump stocks, the device that made the Las Vegas massacre so deadly. A majority of Americans support that ban and Massachusetts has already enacted it into law.

Aha, the Second Amendment people will say, if you let the gun control liberals have a ban on bump stocks, what will they want next? The answer is simple.

First let’s make bump stocks illegal, and then we can all discuss what to do next or even if we should do anything next. But now, especially after the Sutherland Springs massacre, Congress must do something. Inaction equals death.

Come on, Pete, put on your big-boy pants, step up to the plate and swing for the seats.

John Kiely, Eugene 

LEVIN IS WRONG

I’m a big fan of Rick Levin’s writing, but he made two glaring errors in his review of The Florida Project. Unfortunately those errors were in the second paragraph of his review and that paragraph was written to describe a scene that Levin thought perfectly captured the movie.

The birds were obviously not flamingos, as Levin stated, but to this non-ornithologist, they appeared to be sandhill cranes. Also, Bobby didn’t explain to the “girls” that he’s already warned them about getting run over. In the movie, Bobby calls the birds boys and fellas.

Keep up the great work, Rick.  Sorry for the nitpicking.

Dave Taube, Eugene

GUNS AND BAD APPLES

When police find a gun used in a crime, they typically submit a trace request with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to find out where that gun was originally purchased, who bought it, from what dealer and when did they acquire it?

A newly released report from the city of Chicago and recent data from the ATF, reveal that the prevalence of bad-apple gun dealers, combined with neighboring states with weak gun laws, funnel guns into places with strong gun laws. In Chicago, almost 25 percent of crime guns came from just 10 gun stores, and more than 50 percent of their guns came from out of state.

Based on the Brady Campaign’s analysis, in the states with the strongest gun laws, the percentage of crime guns that were originally sold in state is at least 20 percentage points lower than in states with the weakest gun laws. The prevalence of bad-apple gun dealers, combined with neighboring states with weak gun laws, like Indiana and Wisconsin, make Chicago streets significantly more dangerous.

Curious how Oregon stacks up? Oregon is a victim of weak gun laws in other states. Crime guns flow from these states into our cities, towns and neighborhoods to be used in crime. Of the 2,519 crime guns recovered in Oregon in 2016, nearly 30 percent were imported from other states.

Let’s shut down or reform these dealers, making it harder for dangerous people to access guns and lowering the crime rate city-by-city and state-by-state.

Curtis Taylor, Eugene

RECYCLING SICKNESS

I work at a local supermarket. There is a stigma about paper bags. Often the customers express embarrassment or even shame for forgetting them.

As a courtesy clerk with 20 years of food service experience, remaining mindful and trained in food safety, I have been blown out of the water at the state of a lot of these reusable bags. 

They are dirty, stained, filled with trash, reek of cigarette smoke, chemicals and, at times, are putrifying. I look in every bag. 

The most unsettling contaminants are mouse or rat droppings, and dead insects.  

Foodborne illness is the leading cause of illness in the United States, and cross contamination is a dangerous contributor. Nyquil has been flying off the shelves. So many customers are sick and their grocery bags are also infected. 

I think Eugene ought to rethink charging customers for paper.

Dan Egnew, Eugene

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