Manhattan: Right at the time of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, I was in Austin for a wedding. I could not help joking with a couple of Uber drivers when I got down there: “What’s going on in Uvalde? I thought y’all Texans packed heat down here!”

If you are an elderly person reading this, can you recall one of those Rock Hudson-Doris Day romantic comedies of the early 1960s where Hudson’s character says something like: “Golly! That jerk is really out of line! We’d make short work of him back in Texas!” And what about 1974′s “Death Wish,” where Charles Bronson’s character, New Yorker Paul Kersey, goes out West, and his client takes him to some gun club and says, “unlike your city ... muggers operating out here, they’d just plain get their asses blown off.”

I see that Texas already gave the green light for adults working in schools to have guns. When these mass shootings have occurred, the shooter has gone after people in an area where there are lots of people! In all these churches, shopping malls, music and sports arenas, let alone schools, how the hell is it that not one person spotted these shooters with their assault rifles? Come on! Those guns are bigger than some people, right? No one noticed them? Why not? Charles A. O’Connor

Brooklyn: Passing extremely strict gun control laws throughout the country is an excellent idea for only one reason: to prove that guns are not the problem. Does anyone honestly believe all the gun violence is committed by good, nice, decent people who turn violent because they came across a gun? Many people have guns and never use them to commit a crime. It’s high time we recognize that there’s something called evil. We took God out of schools and most of society. We’re seeing the results now. Josh Greenberger

Manhattan: The obsession with guns that so many Americans display is incredible! I grew up in England, where no guns were allowed — even the police were not allowed to have them. I never saw a gun until I came to America in 1968. I have never touched a gun, and I don’t want to! Surely, at the very least, military-style weapons like the AR-15 should be banned to all except those who are actually in the military. When will the laws change to protect the innocent? Does anyone even care? Brenda Nicholls

Bayonne: Tuesday’s Jan. 6 hearings showed Republican witnesses tie Donald Trump directly to the fake electors plot. Moreover, a video produced by the House Select Committee detailed the former president’s and his team’s efforts to sway election officials and intimidate election workers by death threats and even a home break-in. This would be even more remarkable if the previous session didn’t confirm a direct death threat to the vice president! Each session is more damning than the previous one and yet all of this will only serve history if our democracy survives this attack. It’s important that the record is correct and accurate but it is almost lost if there are no indictments or accountability and closure. Ironically, no criminal charges would play right into the GOP conspiracy theories that this is all about politics and not about the insurrection or threat to democracy. Henry Woodack

Manhattan: In order to avoid one farce from the past presidential election, I suggest the following: All votes for our president and vice president be cast and tallied the same way and within the same timeframe in all 50 states. Standardizing the process of voting and counting would avoid delays from varying state election methods. It would also make it easier to trace where a breakdown happened. Perhaps we should even vote for all of our U.S. senators and representatives the same way. Each state can vote internally for their officials however they wish, but when it comes to the people governing over all of us, we should do it the same way. Lynne A. Henderson

Staten Island: Making Juneteenth a national holiday was a noble gesture. However, doing the same for Election Day would be more meaningful in advancing freedom and equality for Black folks as well as all Americans. Ralph D’Esposito

Brewster, N.Y.: I read the Voice of the People every day. What gets me, though, is that it’s more like the Voice of the Left People. Your newspaper has a very progressive narrative overall, so shouldn’t an opinion page be able to get all opinions, not just left-wing ones? Prove me wrong and print this. Michael Guerin

Forest Hills: To Voicer Jessica Glennon: Your letter suggests that the recent ocean drownings are the result of a lack of lifeguards. I am truly sorry for the loss of life, but many of these incidents could (and should) have been avoided with just a smidgeon of real thought. While I do admit there is a lack of lifeguards, I doubt it has anything to do with the city not wanting to spend the money. Year after year, there has been a decrease in the number of applicants for the job. The main reason people are drowning is their own failure to read and/or follow “no swimming” and “caution” signage, thinking they can overcome a strong rip current, and a basic lack of common sense to not swim where there are no lifeguards, even if others are doing it. Linda Sperling

Blauvelt, N.Y.: The News reports “City schools vow to fix high-polluting buildings” (June 20), possibly creating 60,000 jobs and costing $15 billion. Why not use some of the initial money to set up special vocational-technical schools in drug- and gang-infested neighborhoods, training the young to be technicians, plumbers, electricians, etc., who could then be guaranteed well-paying jobs and secure futures fixing up the schools and public housing? This would be like the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, which saved many a youngster from despair and bad behavior. The city also would have a steady pipeline for regular repair/maintenance in its properties. As for the unions, get them involved. These young people are needed in the public trades as well. Build a future for the kids and repair NYC — a more-than-double win. Art Gunther

Whippany, N.J.: The government keeps pushing electric cars to cut down on pollution. What about the pollution that is caused by the electric plant while producing the electricity that charges the car batteries? Cars should have solar panel roofs to charge batteries. Joseph Minardi

Manhattan: Imagine what could happen should there be a federal receivership of Rikers Island: More people would be fired for abusing sick calls, a change in leadership from top to bottom and more safety protocols for staffing personnel. Why isn’t there a clause in the staff’s contract to limit work hours to 16? It’s available in many contracts within many other professions. Working for 24 hours is absurd and dangerous. How many of the staff are burned out or apathetic about the work they must do? Where is the necessary mental health personnel to help them maintain their sanity in an unsafe environment? Brenda Todman

Bronx: “Reject the cruelty of Medicare Advantage, NYC” (op-ed, June 16) by David M. Newman calls attention to the treatment of individuals suffering from illness and receiving inadequate care through their health insurance. I agree with Newman and his stance on rejecting private health insurance plans that cost more than the health services they cover. These plans promise lower out-of-pocket costs or co-payments for covered medical services. However, a recent report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed that hundreds of thousands of medical requests and authorizations were being denied when they should have been approved. Medicare Advantage plans also offer access to fewer doctors and clinics when compared to other plans. It is incredibly difficult for beneficiaries to switch to a different plan. All of these factors add on to the struggles that sick, older people are already facing. Aisha Reyes Castillo

Copyright © 2021, New York Daily News

Copyright © 2021, New York Daily News