2nd Amendment
I am sorry for the trouble that Jim McNamara, of McAllen, went to in citing obscure sources and fake news in his March 22 letter rebuttal impugning the National Rifle Association. It was I who suggested that the conversation be kept civil.
I exhort Mr. McNamara and other like-minded ilk; those outspoken keyboard gladiators, to put their mouths where their keyboards are and put their words into civic action for all the world to see. Society would take them more seriously by seeing a display of peaceful assembly, for example — a chance to not only talk the talk, but to walk the walk. I therefore challenge them to picket the upcoming SAXET Gun Shows in McAllen, which are billed as the largest gun show in Texas. It is scheduled to be held at the McAllen Convention Center Aug. 18 to 19; Oct. 20 to 21, and Dec. 22, 2018.
Being corrupted by left-wing liberal propaganda is an individual choice. Being a member of the NRA is nobody’s concern. For that matter, choosing to own a gun is nobody’s business, either.
The NRA isn’t the Boogeyman, nor are it’s members bad hombres. Respecting the integrity of the Constitution and its amendments isn’t a bad thing.
The hysteria being spread by reactionary, left-wing radical liberals would undermine our republic and place us on a slippery slope. The hysteria that Mr. McNamara chooses to spread is like raw, untreated fertilizer, and is the basis for the late, great Charlton Heston’s infamous statement.
I will shred McNamara’s letter and spread it on my lawn for its latent properties.
Eduardo Estrada, Edinburg
More US jobs
My boyhood hero, Robert Kennedy, often said that “Jobs are better than welfare.” As a “liberal/progressive” Democrat, I agree. But I would add that having a job that pays a good and living wage that is well above the government’s “official poverty line” is the human right of every American who is willing to lead a responsible and productive life. Therefore, I am proposing our President and Congress reverse the 2017 tax cuts and instead spend $1 trillion on a new federal government jobs-creation and poverty-ending bill that guarantees a job with dignity to all responsible Americans that not only pays above the official poverty line, but also pays well above the official “near-poverty” line.
Stewart B. Epstein, Rochester, New York
