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Pasco Letters to the Editor

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 26, 2008

10 Years Later

It has been 10 years since Hank Earl Carr killed three police officers and a 4-year-old boy with an SKS assault rifle acquired at a gun show.

Did we learn anything from this tragedy, and are we smarter and safer because of it? The answer is no on all counts!

The Hank Earl Carrs of Florida can still purchase SKS assault rifles and handguns without background checks at gun shows in Dade City and Lakeland, where Pasco Republican Chairman Bill Bunting maintains his Second Amendment club booth right in the midst of cash-and-carry sales that go on all around him.

Needless to say, Bunting and his followers are proud and vocal supporters of no background checks for those buying from private sellers who hold no federal licenses to sell guns.

Federally licensed gun dealers at these shows must, by law, do a background check before all sales. They think these unlicensed sellers give gun shows a bad name, and they think it should stop. The good news is that senators Barack Obama, Hillary RodhamClinton and even John McCain have each said they support closing what is called the gun show loophole.

What have our local and state governments done in the last 10 years to stop the Hank Earl Carrs of this world from arming themselves with assault rifles and handguns? The answer is less than nothing.

Pasco and Polk county commissioners have had the authority since 1998 to write a simple ordinance requiring a background check before all gun sales at gun shows. Not only have they refused to admit voters gave them that right in 1998, they have consistently indicated they would never pass such an ordinance.

This despite the fact that counties, including Hernando, Hillsborough and Pinellas, passed such an ordinance years ago, and despite the fact that one of our own sheriff's deputies, Bo Harrison, was killed by a gunman with a SKS assault rifle.

The record on the state level is even worse. My organization collected signatures from over 75 percent of the law enforcement agencies in Florida supporting a bill introduced by Sen. Gwen Margolis of Bay Harbor Island to halt the further sales of these weapons. Senator Steve Wise of Jacksonville refused to give the bill a simple hearing.

In addition, our federal legislature allowed the ban on 19 makes of assault rifles, the SKS being one, to sunset without renewal. We are now learning these once-banned weapons are reappearing at crime scenes.

Our state legislature just passed another law for the NRA that's headed for a court challenge. The law forces guns into the workplace despite opposition by Florida businesses. And Bunting continues his crusade to bring guns into every place that currently doesn't allow them by organizing students who want guns on campuses.

Luis Lopez got it right recently when he wrote in the Tribune, "Remember, there is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with her." One of the most important lessons we have taught the world is that with Democracy you have the power to change your government at the ballot box.

I do not think our government's suicide pact with the Second Amendment has added to our greatness. If anything, it has diminished our greatness in the eyes of most countries. In the next election we have a chance to change that.

ARTHUR C. HAYHOE

Wesley Chapel

Not A Political Issue

Regarding "Tammany Hall Revisited," letters, May 21:

Dan Meahl does not present the entire story in his complaint about the sidewalk project in Beacon Woods.

Commissioner Jack Mariano responded to residents' concerns about increased traffic and safety issues when the Wal-Mart at U.S. 19 and Beacon Woods Drive was first proposed. Residents had suggested a sidewalk around Clocktower Parkway, a road that almost all cars entering or leaving Beacon Woods must use.

This project was not special to Beacon Woods. Pasco County commissioners have a program to match privately raised funds for sidewalks. I believe this is an old program that started with the Hudson Seafest.

Commissioner Mariano secured a commitment from Wal-Mart for additional funds. The program was unanimously approved by the county commission.

I encouraged this project and fought the handful of Beacon Woods residents who opposed the project, raising issues such as there not being enough money to fund the entire project. My belief was, and is, that whatever stretch of sidewalk we could get is better than not having any.

Mariano came to the May Beacon Woods Civic Association Board of Directors meeting to explain the status of the project. There was no opposition from any of the nine members of the board to let him speak. He said he believed the original estimates were accurate, but some of the work took more effort and time than expected.

I would like to thank Mariano for putting the sidewalk project together, county commissioners for approving it, work crews for doing a wonderful job on what has been completed and Wal-Mart for helping fund it.

The sidewalks are extremely important for the safety of our residents. There's not a time I drive on Clock Tower that I don't see people using it.

ANN BUNTING

Bayonet Point

Safety Concerns

There have been several letters to the editor that have made Beacon Woods residents out as a bunch of whiners regarding Wal-Mart and cut-through traffic in Beacon Woods. Yes, most roads in Beacon Woods are county roads, but what is not true is that BW residents are just whining and do not have legitimate safety concerns.

Anyone inspired enough to research the impact of big-box retailers on communities knows that 10,000 trips per day from an average Wal-Mart store creates serious safety issues. I applaud the residents of BW who have stood up and taken the safety of their families seriously. Who else will carry the flag for the residents?

Traffic on Clock Tower Parkway has more than doubled since the Hudson Wal-Mart opened just over a month ago. Wal-Mart's application to the Pasco County Development Review Committee for more lanes into its parking lot creates additional safety and access issues.

I sincerely hope your community is not invaded by commercial development.

CARL SPOETH

Bayonet Point

Remember The Purpose

It all started after the Civil War. Communities in the South set aside a day to mark the end of the war and as a memorial to those who had died. Northerners, being impressed, soon followed.

On May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, General Logan issued a proclamation that "Decoration Day" be observed nationwide on May 30. On that day the tombs of the fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance of their sacrifice.

After World War II the day was renamed Memorial Day, an unofficial holiday. In 1967 Congress passed the "Uniform Holiday Bill." This moved Memorial Day from the traditional day of May 30 to the third Monday in May.

Other holidays, such as Columbus Day and the birthdays of Presidents Washington and Lincoln, either were combined into one or their days were changed. This is eroding the patriotism of this great republic.

Memorial Day has been turned into "Sales Day." Furniture, clothing and cars are becoming the reason for this day. Forget the mattress and remember our fallen heroes.

"For those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know."

WALTER B. "RADAR"

O'REILLY

New Port Richey

The writer is director of the Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Inc. The writer is a current member of the board of directors of the Beacon Woods Civic Association and a past president.

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