Letters to the Editor | March 28, 2023

In overriding the mayor’s veto against creating a new public safety director position, City Council has found yet another way to kick the can down the road. In choosing the illusion of action rather than any real approach to the terrible problem of violent crime, Council has chosen to spread, rather than unite, responsibility. Neighborhood meetings, protests, marches, and calls for declarations of one sort or another describe, rather than solve, the problems. Community nonviolence programs are obviously unsuccessful and frequently wasteful. Gun turn-ins only attract citizens who don’t intend to shoot anyone. Calls for tougher gun laws — although justified — would do nothing to solve Philadelphia’s problem, since a decade’s supply of illegally acquired guns is already on the streets. In recent weeks it has been heartening to read that diverse folks — including former Deputy Police Commissioner Charles Brennan, Signe Wilkinson, and Cherelle L. Parker — take a less timid and more realistic look at what needs to be done. Although they would probably differ as to specifics, they are willing to examine focused policing. It’s too bad that City Council cannot bring itself to make a realistic examination of possible solutions.

John W. Morris, Philadelphia, jomosr1945@comcast.net

I was filled with pride to read about the students at Philadelphia High School for Girls (my alma mater) who visited Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson at City Hall to express their concerns about gun violence and organized a citywide student summit to explore ideas for change. As a longtime activist, I applaud their willingness to step out of their comfort zones to express their concerns about an issue of vital importance to all of them, to do the hard work of organizing other people from many different communities, and to share their ideas for how to be persistent and effective in their advocacy. What a great beginning for a future of activism.

I encourage The Inquirer to keep track of these young women and continue to report on their innovations and successes. Nothing is more important than the safety of these young people as they lead the way to a gun-free future.

Jean Haskell, Philadelphia, jean.haskell205@gmail.com

The letter writer seeing wisdom in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s moratorium on the death penalty fails to see the contradiction in his own narrow thinking. Hoping abortion becomes unthinkable is sanctioning death for the woman carrying an embryo (first trimester) or fetus that can prove to be fatal to her. There are multiple examples: dialysis, heart failure, diabetes, miscarriage (medically an incomplete abortion), and others. Fetal anomalies, rape, and incest must be considered as well, causing emotional agony. What is unthinkable is laws are being written that gamble with the life of a pregnant woman, in addition to criminalizing the physician performing the needed termination of the pregnancy. When facing a threatening situation, women must have the right to terminate a pregnancy, protected by law. Abortion should be safe, legal, and affordable. The same premium placed on life by those opposing the death penalty must be compassionately extended to all people, pregnant women included.

Barbara Chernak, Philadelphia

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