Justin Fox Burks
Big Deals
John Branston’s cover story (“Year of the Big Deal,” January 17th issue) serves as a reminder to all the knee-jerk Memphis haters that there are lots of good things going on in our city, thanks to the efforts of those who refuse to submit to the easy negativity so rampant in these parts.
To Branston’s list of Beale Street, Bass Pro Pyramid, the Fairgrounds, and Heritage Trail, I would add the Sears tower project, the new-look Overton Park, the revitalization of Overton Square, the Harahan Bridge project, the expansion and reinvention of Shelby Farms, the new Beale Street Landing, miles and miles of new bike paths, and the Greenline.
It’s going to be harder and harder to be a naysayer if this kind of thing keeps up.
Charlotte Anderson
Memphis
Guns
Mentally unstable males are being blamed for many of the recent killing sprees in the U.S. That’s true, but is everyone overlooking the obvious? A mentally unstable person cannot go out and kill 20 people without the aid of semi-automatic handguns and military-style assault rifles. It’s the guns, stupid! Stay on message.
People keep saying there are no easy answers to gun violence. Wrong again! Australia is an excellent example of what can be done to stop mass murder with guns. In 1996, a lone gunman killed 32 people with semi-automatic guns. Within weeks, the Australian government was working on gun-reform laws that banned assault weapons, tightened licensing laws, and financed gun buyback programs. Since the laws were enacted in 1996, there has been a reduction of gun violence and no more mass murder rampages. Yes, something can be done.
Brian Elkins
Memphis
Dear Christian NRA members, please allow me to remind you that Jesus gave up his life willingly so that you could have life everlasting. And in the future, he is the one you will have to answer to, not the NRA. What will you answer when he asks you why you refused to lay down your deadly toys in order to protect his children? Do you think Jesus might be better served if you cast the NRA millstone from around your neck? Maybe you should ask him.
John Janowick
Memphis
Put in the simplest terms possible, how much longer will Americans put up with this intolerable situation? The four-million member NRA and its puppetmaster, the gun industry, are holding our nation of 312 million people hostage with their agenda of more and bigger guns and the attendant effects of death and violence.
Reading the letters and columns of gun rights advocates and NRA pundits, you can see that they care more about their precious guns than the safety of our nation. Has there ever been a better example of the “tail wagging the dog”?
Karen Temple
Nashville
I keep trying to figure out if those rabid NRA people/House Republicans are mentally challenged or just mean as snakes.
I believe these people must be some sort of subhuman, alien species. They are trying to destroy this country, the planet, most of the animals, all the liberals, all the non-whites, gays, and transvestites. Could they be from the planet Zambodia?
I guess the answer to my question is that the rabid NRA people/House Republicans are both mentally challenged and mean as snakes.
Dagmar Bergan
Helena, Arkansas
King’s Speech
Leonard Gill’s article (“Entrance Exam,” January 17th issue) incorrectly says that Martin Luther King Jr’.s “mountain top” speech was given at Clayborn Temple. It was given at Mason Temple Church. Likewise, John Branston’s article concerning the Heritage Trail (“Year of the Big Deal,” January 17th issue) mentions that King spoke at Clayborn Temple. (He may have spoken there on another occasion, but not on April 3rd.) The sanitation workers’ march did begin at the front of Clayborn Temple.
Mark Mazzone
Memphis
