Letter to the Editor - The Lakeville Journal - 6-3-21

The sides of ‘red flag’ legislation

The “red flag” expansion bill is the next step forward to strengthening our safety as Americans. This new bill offers multiple different solutions to problems that arise from these strict rules. I am in favor of this bill. It is the next step to protecting citizens.

To take a person’s gun away from them, they need a “risk warrant” from a police officer or somebody in judiciary power. This new bill offers people related to the person posing imminent harm (family members, doctors, community members, etc.) to be able to request a risk warrant. There is nobody who knows a person better than their own siblings or even trained professionals who work with that person. This change will help decrease the number of guns shootings significantly, if the person’s relations use the new law. 

Furthermore, the new bill would remove the one-year policy. The only way a suspect is able to receive his guns back is until proven not an imminent harm. According to the current law, the person would have their guns returned to him/her after a year and possibly cause harm until another risk warrant is issued. This is obviously a flawed thought process. According to the predictions from the Connecticut State Government website, this will reduce gun fights and conflicts by 50 percent. This is significant because the more we help secure our citizens’ safety, the better community we will have. 

I had the opportunity to interview a local gun owner and ask their thoughts on the bill. As you could probably imagine, their take on the bill was not positive. When we began our conversation, he didn’t know that this bill was in legislation. Furthermore, he was sincerely concerned about the law after I gave him the brief overview of the bill. When asked about the expansion of who can ask for a risk warrant, he replied, “there is merit” to those who are medically trained professionals. However, expanding it to “concerned community members” is “way too broad.” However, when asked about the one-year policy being removed, he responded immediately with “Not in favor… I own a gun to hunt and provide food for my family... people like me shouldn’t have their gun removed for at least over a year because part of how I feed my family is through hunting.” He further states that “I want my kids and grandchildren to like hunting as well, this bill (if passed), would maybe change their thoughts on that.” He makes a very good argument. 

Overall, when asked about Second Amendment lawmaking, he believes that they should be made in a “reactionary manner.” I completely disagree with this statement because the red flag law was a reactionary bill to the Sandy Hook incident.

In conclusion, I am for this new bill, and this is the next step forward in the right direction in protecting our citizens. People will disagree, like the gun owner I interviewed. However, this bill will help protect the local and statewide citizens of Connecticut. 

Steve Kondas

Salisbury School

Salisbury

Small businesses need help and support 

The COVID-19 pandemic has done some terrible things to good people who are more relevant in our lives than we can ever imagine. The people who are mostly affected by the pandemic are those within small businesses, who are working endlessly to make the customers satisfied as well as making a living for themselves. 

After being in Salisbury for the last two school years, it is evident how much these small business workers are needed and how useful they are in this part of the state. Every student here at the Salisbury School knows every small food business around, and most definitely has their favorites, me included. Although not all small businesses have been affected to the biggest capacity, it still leaves a lot of unneeded work to do in order to be in the best shape your business can be in during this time. 

In 2020, the Department of Economic and Community Development established two programs that collectively provided approximately $92 million in loans and grants to state businesses. Now in 2021, the small businesses around need higher compensation from the state because due to COVID, many businesses had people fired and let go because of the amount of space to pay their workers which then puts more work on their plates. 

After interviewing a small business owner, Mr. Adam Mayer, who is also a teacher and coach at the Salisbury School, it has become evident that the pandemic has somewhat affected every small business in both good and bad ways. The unique part about his small business that you don’t see every day is that he is the only employee. Since the pandemic, Mr. Mayer informed me that he has financially benefited from the pandemic, but a huge factor to that are the people who have moved into Salisbury and a growing market within the Paddle Boarding business. Although this is not something as tragic as other businesses, it provides solid information to why these businesses are so crucial and important to this town. 

These men and women who work effortlessly every day to provide for us but more, so their own families are the real heroes. These owners need help to keep their businesses in the best possible shape. I hope that my thoughts and views on this topic help other people realize what is happening and to start their work to help the small businesses around Salisbury. 

The people living in this phenomenon every day have done their part for this region, now it is the state’s turn to return the favor and give more help to these businesses.

Kyle Aldridge

Salisbury School

Salisbury

The flip side of Michael Kahler

Gas prices high

Confidence low

Like a stye in the eye

Is incompetent Joe

Let’s lead from behind 

And let the chips fall

In decay and decline

Like a loose wrecking ball 

Let Chairman Mao

Spew his watered down juice

Til we bury them deep 

In the twenty double deuce 

Rob Funkhouser

North Canaan

Some are turning a blind eye to the hidden war

As the world has witnessed an 11-day warlike event between Israel and the Palestinians, this Memorial Day I have been thinking of all lost in battles, soldiers and civilians of all ages in acknowledged conflicts. In the U.S. and around the world, there are thousands of women and children who been killed by the man, or others in their social circle, due to domestic violence. 

Many times more suffer abuse and control dynamics for years and cannot find a safe way out many times even when they are willing and leave. Too many women are tormented with having to choose their freedom or their children, and some are forced from their children as well. 

The courts in the U.S. and much of the world have turned a blind eye to the hidden war, but hopefully that will not continue. Jennifer’s Law passed to prevent more of the coercive control that may not manifest with overt physical violence as a measure to allow women or other victims of abuse to be safe and together with their children. 

David Mandel of SafeAndTogetherInstitute.com offers more online training around the world to highlight the need for all systems to advocate for victims and hold abusers accountable. Let’s each learn from online and local situations about how we can improve safety for all across the life spectrum and as we share the roads and challenges any face with care and real support. 

Catherine Palmer Paton

Falls Village