Readers sound off on gun-rights justices, cuffing Trump and death by firing squad

White Plains, N.Y.: Last week, three children and three adults were killed at a Christian school in Nashville. Every year, nearly 4,000 children are shot and killed and 15,000 more are injured in the United States. Firearms are now the leading cause of death of American children and teens.

The Supreme Court majority should have the massive gun deaths and the suffering of the victims’ families on each of their consciences. The justices bear responsibility for their decision to grant the shooters the right to buy the weapons and to deny states the ability to forbid carrying them. The same is true of the court majority’s responsibility for the now routine hate crime killings of Blacks, Asians, Jews and gays, often with military-style weapons the court has authorized for purchase. These Supreme Court decisions are completely counter to the professed criteria the justices claim guide their legal interpretations of the Constitution, namely their professed reliance on the plain meaning of its language and the original intent of its authors, who certainly had nothing like this in mind. Also, these majority members profess to emphasize states’ constitutional responsibilities, none greater than to protect the lives and welfare of their citizens.

The majority’s gun decisions meet none of these tests in that the Second Amendment provides only that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” If there ever was a case where the majority should reconsider its faulty decisions and their gruesome consequences, it would be the egregious results of its Second Amendment decisions. Richard L. Ottinger, retired dean of Pace Law School and former member of Congress

Hammonton, N.J.: I could not agree more with the Daily News assertion that putting Trump’s trial on TV would make it “an OJ-sized spectacle” (“Put Trump’s trial on TV,” editorial, April 2) — the key word being “spectacle.” In one fell swoop, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has done irreparable harm to our nation and simultaneously strengthened the enemy coalition looking to hasten our demise. President Gerald Ford clearly recognized the harm such political actions would do to our nation on the world stage. William Cook

Manhattan: If Trump is not cuffed or jailed in filth like all us little people are, and held on excessive bail — if he gets any special treatment at all — then you can’t use the false talking point that his indictment proves no one is above the law. Either no one is cuffed when arrested or every American is cuffed when arrested. This couldn’t be more simple. America was supposed to be a new type of country where equality is the law. But the crooks in power on both sides keep insisting they are above the laws. In fact, what cops and DAs normally do is violently arrest alleged felons and jail them, and then convene a grand jury to indict after the fact, remember? Dems versus GOP is just Mafia Family A versus Mafia Family B. They have destroyed our nation. Stanley Sifton

Bronx: History is paved with failures and a few successes in between. Learning from the mistakes seems to be a problem for humans. We must observe closely what transpires in the weeks ahead. Failure to see that chaos, riots and not working together will put us on the path of destruction is a possibility. There is a portion of society that cannot work together for the common good. The fact is that by seeing their shortcomings and by trying to work together, we can be the solution. Mark Benveniste

Forked River, N.J.: I consider Mike Lupica’s tribute to his dad the best thing he has ever written (”Bene, baseball and all the memories of my father’s wonderful American life…,” column, April 2), not just because it was penned with love and admiration, but because it brought this reader (and I hope others) back to her first time at the stadium with her dad. It was May in the mid 1960s, playing the Twins. The Mick and the Bombers lost, but the day was a winner for my sister and me. Linda C. Marino

Brooklyn: I support Mayor Adams and his hard work making this city better. Almost every day, the Daily News has frequent criticisms of him, which are usually small and unimportant. What gives? When Adams talks about religion, his empathy and compassion for others and about the need to treat others as they would like to be treated (“Faith, hope & charity in the mayor’s ‘city of god’, ” April 2) what could be wrong with that? Steve Herskovits

Manhattan: Once again, I’m thinking, “When you can’t do the job, call on your god.” I’m embarrassed by our “we fix stuff” mayor who has surrounded himself with overpaid, under-qualified cronies. As important, at least 25% of our population is faith-free. As logic dictates, only man can fix man-made problems. Go fix stuff, Mayor Adams! Frankie Turchiano

Brooklyn: Hey, remember when baseball was the easiest sport to understand and criminals spent time in jail? I miss the good old days! Rocco Conte

Bronx: I agree with Voicer Lorna Obia that understaffing in our health care system needs to be fixed now. After spending two days in an ER and four days in a hospital with my elderly husband, I suggest not leaving your loved one alone too long there. They are so understaffed that the patient suffers. Remember, it could happen to you, too. Theresa DeFranco

Woodbury, L.I.: I lived in the Midwest from 1952 to 1965. We had a tornado once every two or three years — nothing to the extent of what is happening there now. Devastating! So those of you who don’t think climate change is real, think again. Cindy O’Connor

Manhattan: Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed a retrogressive bill that would allow the state’s death-row prisoners to be executed by firing squad. Proponents believe that bone-fragmentizing blasts to the heart causing tormenting pain for at least 10 seconds is a reliable and humane method to end a person’s life. Dating back to 1571′s Tyburn Tree in London, when it was a carnivalesque public spectacle, the death penalty does not effectively dissuade capital crime. Now a “refined,” cloistered event, it certainly has no intimidating power against future murder, which is often an impromptu act of impassioned or intoxicated circumstance. Divested of its myth of deterrence, what are we left with but bareboned vengeance? The sacredness of life must be a steadfast principle, untouched by mercurial exception. Codified murder can be reduced to the abject grade-school math of a life for a life. Across centuries, the remaining void moans as a graceless wind through stake-charred lips, guillotined necks and self-righteously toothy Idaho state legislators. Scott R. Hammond

Manhattan: Recently, noted wrestler Tyrus told of how he informed his daughter of the extreme cruelty involved in producing veal — crying babies taken from mama cows, confined in the dark alone and chained by the neck to “tenderize” the meat — and his daughter’s response was, “Well, I didn’t do it,” and she happily ate the veal. But your daughter is wrong. She did do it — she did indeed help torture that baby. It’s supply and demand. If enough people don’t buy it, they’ll stop this awful, unnecessary practice. Surely, there is enough delicious, plentiful food available without adding such heart-wrenching, miserable horror to your plate. Teach your daughter both economics and character. Both will serve her well throughout her life. Grace Luntz

Brentwood, L.I.: To Voicer Lou Alt: President Ford never said “Drop dead” to NYC. It was a Daily News front page comment. I find it sad that The News doesn’t add an editor’s note pointing this out each time an uninformed Voicer blames that statement on Ford. W.J. Van Sickle