Letters to the Editor | Oct. 28, 2022

State legislators multiplied violent crime in Pennsylvania. They tore up the well-regulated Second Amendment at the behest of the firearms industry. They pass out lethal instruments of violence like Halloween candy to criminals, teenagers, and unstable individuals. They perpetuate the phony war on drugs that fuels much of the violence and results in thousands of deaths from overdoses each year. They increase poverty, which increases crime, by defunding education and infrastructure.

Rather than change policies that destroyed law and order in Pennsylvania, state legislators seized upon DA Larry Krasner as their scapegoat. They are attacking him in our criminal courts. State legislators ignore victims of violent crimes and refuse to protect Pennsylvanians.

Being “tough on crime” really means effective police, first-class education, good jobs with fair pay, going after criminals (both in the street and in corporate suites), and keeping firearms out of the hands of children, criminals and unstable adults.

Instead, House Republicans betrayed us by filing articles of impeachment against Krasner.

Rob Baker, Ambler

I am a senior at Harriton High School in Montgomery County. I am an officer of our SAGE (Students Advocating for Greater Equity) Club, and we read the opinion “I’m a trans teen in Central Bucks. Here, it doesn’t get better” by Lily Freeman. I felt appalled by the district’s actions targeting LGBTQ+ children. Living in Lower Merion, our schools pledge to be good allies for their queer students. They have rainbow badges and posters that label their classrooms as a “safe space.” I can’t imagine a school where you are smothered by restrictions that cage your identity. How are students expected to thrive in public education if they don’t feel welcome? I hope The Inquirer continues to report on similar stories, because districts and parents need to realize that a safe exploration of identity is necessary for growing up.

Pauline Voelkel, Penn Valley

I go back to Robin Roberts and Richie Ashburn and the 1950 Whiz Kids, so like hundreds of thousands of other fans, I’ve been in baseball heaven with the Phillies’ run, particularly the heroics of Bryce Harper.

But if I were the Phils’ manager, I would be prepared to move Bryce to third in the batting order for the following reason: If I am the Houston manager, I say to my pitchers, “Bryce Harper ain’t going to beat us. I don’t care if you have to walk him every at bat.”

And I predict that is what Houston will do — pitch around and walk him. So, my move in the chess game that is baseball is the left-handed Bryce bats third, followed by Rhys Hoskins, a righty who can drive him home — and I’m not talking about in a Tesla.

Robert Cherry, Wynnewood

The number of election deniers running for office should not come as a surprise to anyone. When we allow partisan politicians to gerrymander their states into electorally “safe” districts, the real voting occurs in the primaries, where extremists tend to win. When we send extremists to Washington, compromise is difficult, at best.

Until we demand that partisans are kept out of the electoral mapping process, or the Supreme Court bars it, the country will continue to be stuck in a quagmire of its own making. Partisans have been barred from this process in other countries such as Canada. There’s no reason we can’t do it here. We blame politicians for our problems, but not who’s truly responsible: the American people.

This is just one example, of many, of us getting precisely from our elected officials what we demand of them.

Joseph Goldberg, Philadelphia

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