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To the Editor:
Re “‘A Dark Day for Maine’: 18 Dead, Cities on Edge and New Scars to Heal” (front page, Oct. 27):
When I heard the news out of Lewiston, I instinctively placed my hand on my baby bump. In just a few months, I will meet my son — my first child — and although I do not know him yet, I already feel an innate and intense longing to protect him. To shield him from harm and from heartache.
It is terrifying to reckon with the very real possibility that my son could be taken from me by gun violence. After all, in the U.S., firearms are the leading cause of death in children and teens.
While mass shootings represent only a small fraction of gun-related deaths, their frequency still forces parents like me to rethink the safety of their children in public places. How can I take my son to a parade, the movies or even a bowling alley without wondering if I put him in harm’s way? Should I send him to school in a bulletproof vest?
I take comfort in knowing that, for now, my son is safe inside my womb, blissfully unaware that he could ever be in danger. Soon enough, he will face a hard truth: Try as she might, his mother will not always be able to protect him.
Olivia V. Sanderfoot
Los Angeles
To the Editor:
Even if we believe the interpretation of some that the Second Amendment was intended to permit citizens to own powerful military-grade weaponry, we have the problem that this supposed right directly contradicts other important rights embedded in the Constitution, namely the right to not have one’s life instantly cut short in a bowling alley without warning and certainly no due process of law.
Where do the rights of the thousands slain annually and those who will continue to be slain by these weapons get weighed against the rights of gun enthusiasts to own the next high-tech instrument of war?
Larry Lobert
Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.
To the Editor:
We are all saddened to hear of another tragic event, which we will be reminded of by flags at half-staff for the next several days. Given that mass shootings occur so frequently, perhaps we should leave our flags at half-staff permanently.
Moreover, we should hoist them upside down to indicate that we are in distress — nationwide distress over the fact that our government seems powerless to protect us against such terrorist attacks. Our government cannot even protect itself against growing attempts to dismantle the democracy we have come to take for granted.
Guns alone do not kill people; people do. But people can kill so quickly and effectively because of assault weapons, which serve no useful purpose in a civilized society and should clearly be banned, as they once were.
We should hoist our flags upside down to half-staff until our government does what it was created to do, protect the people, by permanently banning assault weapons.
Mitchell A. Adler
Irvington, N.Y.
To the Editor:
Re “Representative Jared Golden of Maine Calls for a Ban on Assault Weapons, Reversing a Long-Held Stance” (nytimes.com, Oct. 26):
Representative Golden, identified as one of the few House Democrats who opposed an assault-weapons ban, is quoted as saying, “The time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure.”
I’m unimpressed by Mr. Golden’s newfound empathy for the victims of gun violence that materialized only when he and his constituents were affected personally.
Robert Wagner
New York
From City Hall: How New York Has Come Back
While we appreciate The Times’s coverage of this historic milestone, the article misses the many economic indicators that should give us hope for a more inclusive future.
Our labor force participation rate of 62.6 percent, for example, is nearly the highest in the city’s recorded history. Small businesses are booming too, with nearly 40,000 launching since the start of our administration, and one in seven total small businesses opening within the last year. Job growth in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island has also reached new highs as they re-emerge as economic centers.
Our work is not done, as Mayor Eric Adams has noted. That’s why we’re tackling longstanding inequities by creating youth employment and apprenticeship programs, spending a record $6 billion with minority- and women-owned businesses, using our contracts to create jobs in economically disadvantaged communities, and building industries, like the green economy, with accessible career pathways.
As a deputy mayor, I travel all over the city. I see businesses opening, tourists visiting and my fellow New Yorkers going to work and enjoying our culture.
This is more than a feeling. This is reality.
Maria Torres-Springer
New York
The writer is the deputy mayor for housing, economic development and workforce.
Save the Birds From Deadly Collisions With Buildings
To the Editor:
Re “Stylish, Expensive and a ‘Death Trap’ for Birds” (front page, Oct. 17):
Up to one billion birds die each year in the United States from collisions with windows and towers. It’s unsustainable. But we know how to prevent these deaths, and I’m given hope by individuals, like the residents of Circa Central Park in your article, who are taking the first important steps.
We can all join them.
While skyscrapers cause mass collisions, the one-off hits at smaller buildings, including homes, account for 99 percent of bird-collision deaths. The bird that crashed into your window, your neighbor’s, the local library’s and the school’s — it all adds up.
Fortunately, we can each make a change at home to save birds. Reduced lighting and markings on windows, spaced two inches apart, can prevent nearly all accidents. There are many affordable, effective products and do-it-yourself options.
Turning off lights or closing blinds at night will draw fewer birds to your home. Timers and motion sensors work well to limit lights to where and when they are needed, preventing deaths, saving energy and saving you money.
On many of our U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service buildings, we are simply applying dots, spaced two inches apart, to the glass. This has little visual effect for people and makes a world of difference for birds that can now see the windows and avoid them. For our new buildings, we’re committed to bird-safe designs for glass and lighting.
I ask each reader to take one step to end collisions at your home or office and help save birds. Individually, and together, it makes a difference.
Wendi Weber
Hadley, Mass.
The writer is the Northeast regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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