Letters to the Editor | Sept. 24, 2023

Here’s the tally: 499, 562, 516. These might just be numbers to you, but to the families of victims of gun violence, these numbers represent the lives lost in the years 2020, 2021, and 2022. This is the true cost of Philadelphia’s gun violence crisis. Even though the number of homicides has slightly declined this year, so much more can and must be done to combat the threat that gun violence poses to all of us. This is why we need the Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia crime summit — a citywide, solutions-driven conversation to create a plan for Philadelphia’s 100th mayor.

Because bullets don’t discriminate, we need everyone — from state and federal partners to the private sector, and boots on the ground credible messengers — to come together. The solutions to address gun violence already exist. We just need to find them, enhance them, fund them, and implement them. Whether they be conflict resolution training in our city’s schools, neighborhood resource centers that care for our youth, summer camps, or parental trainings.

This is a summit of solutions, and we have a duty to help our citizens in any way we can. Attendees cannot be expert articulators of the problem. We need to be architects of the solution. We are currently accepting proposed solutions. Please fill out the Google form available on my social media profiles and ensure your voice is heard. We have a duty to our next mayor to present a plan for Philadelphia’s future. They may not use it, but they cannot say they didn’t know about it.

Curtis Jones Jr., Philadelphia City Council member, 4th District

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer has relaxed the Senate’s dress code, allowing Sen. John Fetterman to be on the Senate floor dressed in a hoodie, gym shorts, and sneakers. Schumer’s casual dress policy to accommodate Pennsylvania’s junior senator is unquestionably, absolutely, and egregiously nothing but total nonsense. Given this, the man holds no respect for the institution itself or his constituents. Fetterman is nothing less than an abject embarrassment to the people of the United States.

Earl Beal, Terre Haute, Ind.

Labeling John Fetterman’s dress as a national disgrace, and therefore claiming he doesn’t belong in Washington, is ridiculous. Fetterman’s preference for dressing down has not forced the other 99 senators to “bow to his wishes,” as a recent letter writer stated. Senators can still dress as they please. I would also point to another saying: Clothes don’t make the man. Wearing a suit and tie means nothing when it comes to a person’s substance. Respect for the Senate also includes respecting the job that senators are supposed to do, and not using their positions solely for political purposes.

That includes Mitch McConnell’s manipulation of the timing of U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, two senators posing challenges to the 2020 election even after the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and the current obstruction of military appointments by Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville. McConnell and others clearly and correctly laid the blame for Jan. 6 on Donald Trump, but their votes on impeachment didn’t reflect that. Maybe the only way those Republicans can show their reverence for the Constitution is to show up to work in a suit. It doesn’t take a profile in courage for that.

Nancy Case, Havertown

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.