Letters | In support of Joey

AS AN EX-Philadelphian, I say cheers to Joey Vento and Geno's. And jeers to the Human Relations Commission.

Vento is a businessman and wouldn't drive people away. If you don't like the sign, go elsewhere - one of his competitors is right across the street. English should be our official language. You don't need to forget your native language, just learn English.

When I was overseas, I always tried to order food in the native language and found the servers were even more helpful. My only regret: I can't get his cheesesteaks down here.

George J. Weber, Augusta, Ga.

A rebuttal on guns

Ex-Philadelphia detective Joe Fox repeated a couple of the gun lobby's tired mantras in a recent letter ("Cops & Guns & Really Enforcing the Law," Dec. 10).

He took folks seeking stronger regulation of handguns to task for supposedly using recent cop shootings to push an "anti-gun" agenda. Tell that to the dozens of cops from across the state who stood in the Capitol in support of bills to require that lost or stolen handguns be reported to police and to limit purchases to one handgun a month. The campaign is not anti-gun, it's anti-gun violence.

Fox also repeated the ridiculous contentions that it's all about better enforcement of existing law and that new regulation isn't needed. It's a purposeful fallacy to argue that both can't be done. It's as nonsensical as demanding full enforcement of traffic laws to the exclusion of requiring safety features in cars.

The members of the PATH (Pennsylvanians Against Trafficking Handguns) Coalition believe that, like the shift in any social problem, reducing handgun crime and violence requires many approaches. Better enforcement and new and stronger regulation of handguns go hand-in-hand.

Phoebe Sheftel, Chair

Peacemaking Task Force

Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church Member of the PATH Coalition