Give Congressman Joe Wilson the credit he deserves for standing up for our children
On guns
Too often we want to blame responsible law-abiding citizens for gun deaths, and that’s why I think state Attorney General Alan Wilson should be lauded for trying to protect the rights of gun owners.
The blame for gun violence should be directed at a legal system that doesn’t hold criminals accountable for breaking gun laws, judges who put violent repeat offenders back on the street and citizens who refuse to help law enforcement catch these individuals.
Joe Pappas, Columbia
On Joe Wilson
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson should be applauded for championing a House bill that condemns all forms of violence against children and calls for having a unified government strategy to prevent and end violence against children around the world.
The bill was recently approved by the House, and Wilson worked hand-in-hand on it with Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts. This is a great example of lawmakers stepping across the aisle to bring about positive change, and it’s exactly the kind of bipartisan cooperation that our state and our country must see on a more consistent basis.
People in our state may have varying opinions about Wilson, but I believe in giving honor to whom honor is due — and Wilson has stepped up for children and made South Carolina look good in the process. The congressman deserves our thanks for doing such important work.
Heather Blackwell, West Columbia
On Santee Cooper
After multiple sessions and hearing after hearing. our Legislature remains effectively in gridlock over Santee Cooper. But one thing is already clear: we cannot walk away from this process allowing Santee Cooper to continue operating the way it has up to this point.
Our lawmakers may be able to come up with a solid plan for reform but it will ultimately mean nothing if Santee Cooper continues to operate as an unaccountable bureaucracy.
I believe that the writing is on the wall: Santee Cooper isn’t going to change — and selling the state utility is the best and only way for South Carolina to get out of this mess.
Dick Richards Murrells Inlet
On our lawmakers
Here’s my personal message to our state lawmakers:
Pay our teachers, pave our roads and reduce your gaseous emissions.
David Lee Miller, Columbia
On Mike Pence
A recent letter writer suggested that Vice President Mike Pence’s apparent view on the age of the Earth disqualifies Pence from being able to properly oversee our government’s effort to combat the coronavirus.
But throughout history, some of our most influential scientists and thinkers — from Copernicus, Bacon and Descartes to Newton, Boyle and Faraday — held Christian or Judeo-Christian worldviews that I assume would mirror Pence’s view of creation.
The letter writer should realize that America is a melting pot of views and that our nation’s Christian heritage is deep and strong. You can’t bash God on one hand and claim to have the moral ground on the other.
The good news for the letter writer – and for me – is that God loves all of us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. Now more than ever, our country needs big-hearted peacemakers.
Fred Kerr, West Columbia
On kindness
While checking out of a Food Lion grocery store recently, I realized that I didn’t have my wallet.
In a panic I rushed to see if I had left the wallet inside my vehicle, but it wasn’t there either.
While I was outside, however, a gentleman who was also in the cashier line paid for my groceries. When I asked him for his address so I could reimburse him, he told me that he could afford to help someone — and that I should just pay it forward.
We shook hands, exchanged first names and the gentleman told me to have a blessed day.
I’m just hoping that this gentleman reads The State, so that he can know how much his wonderful act of kindness and generosity has influenced me — as well as the dozens of people I’ve shared this story with over the past few weeks.
Norma Wechsler, Columbia
On oil development
In his recent op-ed column titled “Offshore energy would help SC, but Democrats block our path” Derrick Hollie — the president of Reaching America, a group he describes as working “to solve social issues impacting African American communities” — promoted offshore oil and gas development in South Carolina.
Hollie wrote that it would help to reduce “energy poverty” in African American communities, but he did not even mention — much less try to question — any of the environmental problems that have been identified by scientists who have studied the potential consequences of oil and gas offshore development.
Here’s something else that Hollie did not mention: Reaching America works in partnership with Explore Offshore, a coalition organized by the American Petroleum Institute. In addition, DeSmog — a group that works to expose misinformation campaigns by those who attack climate science — recently reported that Hollie has refused to answer questions about how Reaching America is funded.
Greg Weis, Aiken
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 1:00 PM.