A message for the public

Dear Editor:

17 more victims. 17 more innocent children. 17 more incredible, future contributors to our crumbling nation. The list of the lives taken from a single gun, the AR-15, grows too rapidly.

On February 14, 2018, yet another school shooting took place in Parkland, Florida, where a handful of amazing students’ future lives and opportunities were ripped away from them by a single 19-year-old male. We are numb, we are immune, and we are hopeless. When is enough, enough?

Through the tragic events of these school shootings, and the hardships that many friends and families have been through because of them, it is of my utmost pleasure to be able to say that our community has not given up. Our community of students, staff and ordinary citizens all over the country have sustained such a strong and powerful movement that is almost impossible to ignore. I am filled with hope, and I only wish that all of you gain the same amount, if not more.

Our time is now. Our time of reflection has ended. Our time of immunity, numbness and helplessness is gone. It is now our turn to fight. It is now our time to come together as the vocal society we are, and push back the concept of “waiting it out.”

Around 80 percent of Americans believe in striving for more strict and active gun control laws, but the opposing 20 unfortunately holds the greater amount of power and control. We cannot let them win. We cannot simply say and hope and wish for action to take place, we must do it ourselves.

Time after time the NRA succeeds in their stability of freedom of gun possession. We sit back and watch the same old useless routine fly by. We mourn, we attempt to find a voice, then finally are forced to accept the fact that it has passed, and there is little that can possibly be done to make a change.

But I stand here today in front of my country and say, “no more.” No more force of submission. No more force of moving on. The only force that should have a hold on us is the fact that we are forced to do nothing but take action.

I challenge the broken hearts. I challenge the students. I even challenge the unaffected, to rise up and take action on the epidemic that we face today. Let us show some true character.

From the country built upon freedom of speech, let us one day not face the worldwide stereotype of every single person in the USA owning a gun. Allow us, allow yourself, to end it all. Thank you.

Emma Gomez

Claremont High School junior

Safety solutions

Dear Editor:

Instead of bigotry and the shameless manipulation of teenagers in getting them to fight against their own civil rights, how about some solutions based in reality?

First and foremost, teach gun safety to students. Pretending that students won’t encounter a firearm and/or weapon (spoons, steak knives, sports equipment, hammers, etc.) means you’re living in a bubble and shortchanging their safety.  And the lessons should not be treated like sex ed, where one or two hours in the fifth grade should “be enough” to last a lifetime.

Second, have truthful conversations and practice about firearms, weapons, self defense, being in charge of their own safety in public, law, the actual job of the police and our government, how not to “mess with people,” the power that a group can have when working together, and how to expose and handle bullies (take away their power).

When students realize that no one has a duty to protect them, they will start thinking and acting differently towards bullies, politicians and haters.

Third, and very much needed, recognize and practice logic and the different forms of argument. These lessons will help immensely toward thinking and exposing institutionally-tiered citizenship (politicians, agents of the state and then us), gun control emotionalism and other hateful political agendas that try to tell them what they think is best for them.

The hard part here is finding a board of education that values student safety and being prepared for life over testing results and property values. Case in point, does CHS offer the drivers education course mandated to be taught by the state? There’s a story if you look.

Lastly, the arming of teachers should be entirely left up to the teacher. What’s the difference between having fish in a barrel and forcing teachers/students into soft targets? If someone starts shooting, how is the outcome any different?

Besides, teachers who last more than five years in the business are tougher than what the gun haters would have you believe, although admittedly, some may not want to come down from the ivory tower.

Leslie Watkins

Claremont

Meet the need

Dear Editor:

Three years ago, the voters of Claremont clearly stated that $50 million was just too costly for the proposed police facility at the gravel pit. However, opponents of Measure PS agreed that the aging police facility needed to be replaced.

The people’s voice was heard in 2015 and the city listened. The process of finding an alternative means to provide a new police facility was started.

An ad hoc committee was convened in December 2015 to find a fiscally responsible way to replace the outdated building on Bonita Avenue. The committee included many of those who were opposed to Measure PS.

The ad hoc committee spent months listening to input from the community. The committee posed hard questions to city staff and expert consultants regarding cost, size, rehabilitating the existing building and other funding mechanisms. The results of months of due diligence on these issues included:

• Cutting the total cost by over 50 percent and keeping it to current essential service standards.

• Reducing the overall size of the facility by 47 percent.

• Keeping the new facility at its existing location on Bonita Avenue.

• Recommending the use of a general obligation bond as the most cost-effective means of financing the new station. It is a shorter term, less cost to finance the general obligation bond, and can only be used for building of the police station. 

The ad hoc committee truly did its due diligence on the community’s behalf. Their recommendations were presented to the city council and accepted. The council acted to have the bond measure placed on the June ballot.

The police department is the only 24/7 service provided by the city. The current building cannot be rehabilitated. This is a need, not a want.

On June 5, we need to keep Claremont the safe and healthy community that drew us here to live, raise our families, and enjoy our golden years by approving the general obligation bond.

Larry and Marci Horowitz

41-year Claremont residents

Another open letter

Dear Editor:

To members of the Democratic party: the time has come for you to resign from the Democratic party and stop supporting its political activities.

I realize that the Democratic party offers its members some good things: a safe thought-free environment and social club activities with other superannuated self-inflating gaslighters, etc. But those programs are certainly not what the chief aim of the Democratic party is today. They are the come-on to get members to support the political aims of the organization—the candy that the stranger offers the child if he or she gets into the car.

Research—which I’ve just made up—shows that an overwhelming majority of Democratic members are not serial sex offenders or corrupt criminals. But the organization itself keeps putting such people in positions of leadership. Take a look at the roster of former California state officials.

So the members must lead the way to a saner society and that means abandoning Democratic party membership even if that costs the individual the goodies it provides.

The Democratic party leadership and their fellow-travelers see evil never where it actually exists, but always and only in its ideological foes.

Donna S. Lowe

Claremont