Guns and the Lege; no shame in aging

Guns and the Lege

Open carry is about to pass in Texas. Supposedly only licensed persons can do this.

How will the general public know that the person carrying has a license? At least a police officer has a badge. I’m not happy.

I support the right to carry a concealed weapon, but I cannot embrace open carry.

Gov. Greg Abbott, man up and veto this insane bill!

— Richard A. Chiarello, Arlington

Back to the Wild West goes Texas! Strap it on and walk big down the streets of our great state, and, according to the bill passed by the House, dare a police officer to question you for having the ole .45 on your hip.

The next question: What good is a permit? If one didn’t know better, this would seem like a bad dream, but then again it just shows what the almighty dollar will do in Austin.

You don’t think there are enough officers on the streets now? Just wait. Not only will cities and counties need to hire more for the streets, they’ll need to put in more switchboards and people to deal with the number of calls coming in with this statement: “There’s a person that looks bad with a gun in here!”

I didn’t think I’d live long enough to see something this crazy passed into law, but I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise.

It might be good for young people to go to embalming school. I think I’ll start a quick-draw school!

— Dale Allen, Hurst

What kind of government allows a law such as this?

Let’s imagine the future. Small boy wants to be like Daddy and wear a gun, wants to look cool in his Daddy’s gear. Boy picks a fight just to pull out his loaded gun and shoot, leaving a small child, or perhaps an adult, dead, which leads to anger in the victim’s family, which in turn leads to more violence.

Why not leave things the way they were?

In fact, the way they were is even a problem. Guns even in the right hands seem to be causing a problem.

This needs to be fixed now and not made Texas law.

Are we dealing with people who are stupid, or are we dealing with someone who wants to be re-elected?

— Linda Tillman, Arlington

If the Texas Legislature continues on its current course, it will soon be possible for a Texas landowner to pull a handgun the instant an intruder encroaches on his or her property, unless the intruder is accompanied by a drilling rig.

It may be legal to shoot your neighbor for trespassing, but if the intruder is bent on energy production, the only course the landowner may have is to stay inside and bake cookies.

— Karen Myers, Fort Worth

No shame in aging

As a 70-year-old female, I resent the April 11 cartoon showing the Rolling Stones tour outside the “Senior Moments Nursing Home” with a person using a walker saying, “Mick, Keith, Ron and Charlie must’ve wandered off again.”

By continually showing older people as incompetent, stupid, incapable and disabled, you perpetuate the stereotype that we are such. The cartoon should be celebrating the fact that the Rolling Stones are capable of drawing huge crowds and putting on a show worth paying for.

Please be sensitive and avoid denigrating older adults.

We don’t deserve that, and in this youth-obsessed American culture, I, for one (and through the Age-Friendly Arlington Action Brigade that I lead), am working hard to eliminate the stigma attached to older adults.

There’s no shame in aging. In fact, research shows that people get “happier” as they age.

So that is something that younger people can look forward to.

— Elva Roy, Arlington

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Guns and the Lege; no shame in aging."