Reader calls for organizing against gun use involved in mass killings, child suicide

Guns and consequences

If people want to keep their guns, let them, but there should be consequences if the guns are used to kill innocent people. Laws should be enacted that enforce the following:

– If a gun owner’s weapon results in a crime, the gun owner should be held responsible if the gun was not properly locked up to prevent access either in a home, business or vehicle.

– If a child is involved in a mass killing, parents should be prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter or murder.

– No guns can be sold at estate sales, garage sales or other private sales without proper paperwork. If sold without proper paperwork, the previous owner should be charged for any crime committed.

– If a child kills himself with a weapon not properly secured, the parents should be charged with child neglect or murder.

– Children should not have access to websites that describe how to kill themselves or others. If a child is unsupervised on the Internet, parents should be charged with neglect or even murder if a death results.

Remember Mothers Against Drunk Driving? It’s time to organize against gun crimes involved in mass killings and child suicide.

The children in Florida tried. It is time for all responsible citizens to act.

Lili Coleman, Hilton Hilton

Through a child’s eyes

A recent letter made an analogy about growth in Beaufort County, and specifically the Bluffton area. We began with a few fish in a bowl until more and more were added. Life has become untenable due to overdevelopment and the addition of too many fish.

The other day, as I was pulling into the front entrance of Woodbridge, my seven-year-old granddaughter gasped. She was sitting in the back seat, staring at another pile of cut trees and land torn by bulldozers. Suddenly, she began to cry. “What will happen to all the animals? The birds…Oh no!” A resident of Bluffton all her short life, she has come to her own conclusions about rapid development.

We used to make a game of “port-a-potty” sightings, counting how many we saw driving about Bluffton. Now, as she grows, she understands that these sightings represent a much more serious threat to our environment. She hasn’t yet come to see that such rapid growth has led to overcrowded schools, lack of child care providers, difficulty finding new physicians, and traffic nightmares.

I only hope that her generation will do a much better job understanding the ramifications of seemingly unstoppable growth.

Leslie K. Natoli, Bluffton

Proper disposal & signage?

In the past we were told not to discard old batteries into the soil because of contamination.

Enviromentalists thought fines should be imposed for doing so.

Recently I carried a bag of AA batteries and others to the county dump and asked the attendant if there was a special drop off for them. I was instructed to throw them into a regular trash bin.

What has happened with concerns about contaminations?

Also of interest are the signs placed by the town of Hilton Head on properties preserving the “land against commercial development by the town of HH.”

I think the signage is incorrect. It should say “by the citizens of HH.” They voted to authorize the program. The town just utilizes the authority.

LaMar Acuff, Bluffton

Very dissatisfied resident

In my opinion, our councilmen/women are not doing their job for us residents.

My main concern is the convenience centers. You changed the hours of operation for what reason?

It took me half an hour to get to the recycle bin and only one was open. Many of us cannot afford the luxury of pick-up service.

Example: We had a closing on Dec. 22, and then we had Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Why weren’t two recycle containers available?

We as residents never were given the chance to vote on the closing.

Robert Williams, Beaufort