Needless gun violence in South Carolina leaves death, suffering behind
End gun violence now
Gun violence in Columbia is an escalating problem that needs attention. The responsibility of reducing gun violence lies with city leaders partnering with community agencies. I am a concerned citizen and member of MORE Justice, an organization of 35 local religious congregations calling on our area’s officials to take action on issues of injustice in the Midlands. The National Network for Safe Communities has a proven track record of reducing gun violence.
In April, we asked the Chief of Police to take a proactive action to contract with these national experts to get to the root of the problem and to work to stop shootings before they happen. Instead, the chief and the sheriff did not attend a gathering with 1,100 residents ready to partner for change. We need our law enforcement officials to partner with national experts with a track record of reducing gun violence.
MORE Justice was instrumental in the push that got hundreds of police officers certified in crisis intervention. We, as part of the faith community in Columbia, know gun violence is a crisis. Action cannot be delayed.
- Galen S. McWilliams,Columbia
League let us down
A sense of disappointment in the League of Women Voters of the Columbia Area should be felt by all Midlands citizens. An institution that likes to present itself as nonpartisan has gone out of its way to show just how partisan it has become. The editorial by their president asking for support of HR1, the For the People Act, and exhorting our U.S. senators to vote for it is the most partisan act I have ever seen from this organization. Her plea to support an act that not a single conservative House member supported flies in the face of reason. They are now just another “woke” addicted liberal organization.
- Bill Barlow, West Columbia
McMaster needs to stay in his lane
Gov. Henry McMaster has no more business telling a teacher what to do with the students in his or her classroom than he does telling a woman what to do with her uterus. He needs to stay out of both.
- Elizabeth Jones, Columbia
Vaccines work, use them
I am totally amazed at how many people, especially those in the news media, have no clue about how vaccines work. News media outlets report that there are breakthrough infections of COVID-19 in fully vaccinated people. That isn’t even news. Vaccines help a person’s immune system recognize an organism that has invaded the body so the body can react faster than the organism can replicate. This shortens and lessens an illness and helps keep people out of the hospital or grave. The shorter the illness, the shorter time to transmit to others. No one intelligent has said you can’t get the infection once vaccinated.
To report that people who are vaccinated still get the virus is somehow a vaccine failure is pure ignorance and irresponsible as well. This misinformation has and is convincing the public that the vaccine does not work, which will cost lives.
As a physician, I know vaccines, masks and social distancing do work and save lives. Listening to liberal or conservative politicians is a waste of time and dangerous. Stop spreading misinformation about vaccines and help the public survive this. Stop listening to moron bloggers online as well.
- Rodney Fitzgibbon, Columbia
Misinformation is killing us
We live in a sadly confusing, conflicting, contradictory society where an insidious information and misinformation pandemic overloads each of us and no one is certain of what to believe or trust. Blame all sides all you want, but the deadliest infection facing us is the misinformation malady of the media and our elected leaders on all sides of the issue.
Remember the 1950s, when Jonas Salk gave us the polio vaccine? You never heard anyone not getting it or unwilling to take it — and it saved more than a generation. I’ve no idea of the true effectiveness of a mask, and clearly some of those being used are totally ineffective, but if it gives others a degree of safety or peace of mind, I’m OK with them.
Our society is so blindly polarized today we fail to simply share a little love, respect and God-given common sense. I’d ask my friends — yes even the doubters or non-believers, left, right, indifferent — to ponder the words of Jesus: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Robert G. Liming, Columbia
Nuclear dangers remain
A 10-year license for the South Carolina atomic factory near Columbia would be dangerous. A 40-year license renewal as described in The State’s Sunday front-page story would be senseless. (“Federal study supports new 40-year license for Columbia nuclear plant”) Things change. Forty years ago, the phrase, “Google it,” would have been meaningless, and no one had a phone in their pocket. Forty years from now, it’s barely credible that a few nuclear reactors will remain. Perhaps there will be none at all.
Setting aside the real environmental dangers of leaking nuclear waste, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommendation to renew the license for 40 years doesn’t make common sense.
- Joanne Williams, Columbia
This story was originally published August 8, 2021 at 6:00 AM.