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TEXARKANA -- The 10 people killed make the May 14 gun attack at an upstate New York supermarket the deadliest mass shooting to date in the U.S.

Yet, it's just one of the reported 209 mass shootings the nation has seen since the beginning of 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

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CAN'T SEE THE POLL QUESTION? Read the story at texarkanagazette.com/news/polls

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In the five days after 18-year-old Payton Gendron's alleged racist rampage at the Buffalo, New York, grocery, there were nine other mass shooting events in U.S. The Gun Violence Archive reports that those attacks killed 12 people and injured 59 others.

Closer to home, on May 12, one person was killed and four were injured when a gunman opened fire after a graduation ceremony in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Over Easter weekend a month ago, one person was killed and six others were hurt by gunfire at a pasture party north of Daingerfield, Texas.

As gun violence continues to mount across the nation, the Gazette was interested in learning what readers do to stay safe in public places. The responses vary, but there is a theme: being armed.

"I carry a Glock .26 everywhere," Jessie Morris said.

Reader Lewis Branan gave a two-prong plan for protection: "Remain vigilant; be armed. Self-preservation is the first law of nature."

The Second Amendment is a cornerstone of what Chris Loveall does to stay safe.

"Always be aware of my surroundings. I carry a concealed weapon everywhere unless it is prohibited," Loveall wrote. "I try not to frequent those places. Most mass shootings occur in places where guns are not allowed."

Daniel Sparks said while he practices concealed carry, it's not a show of bravado.

"(It's) for my family's protection. You never know what can happen one minute from the next," he wrote. "If I had only one piece of advice for those out there is to be aware of your surroundings. Don't walk with your head hung low and looking at the ground. Be aware."

The lengthiest response came from Tom Rainey, who builds his personal protection plan on being selective.

"The wife and I no longer go to places that don't allow open carry. We have also cut out establishments that are heavy on alcohol consumption. As a concealed handgun carrier, I still recognize guns and alcohol don't mix. Everyone needs to know strangers are strangers. We know nothing about them so why be around them always."

Above all, Rainey recommends that people put themselves in the safest situation possible, "even if it means cutting things out that were safe before."

"This world isn't safe," he said. "Don't be the one who was at the wrong place and wrong time. Your place to be is with your family."

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SURVIVING AN ACTIVE SHOOTING SITUATION

Sgt. Kim Weaver of the Texarkana Texas Police Department offers three suggestions on how to survive during an active shooting.

RUN. If you can escape and have an exit, escape and evacuate the premises. After you have exited and are safely away, call 911. Warn others that might try to go into the building if you see someone going that direction.

HIDE. If you can't exit the building and cannot escape, you need to hide. Try to get into a room and secure it, turn off the lights, and stay quiet. Call 911 and silence the ringer on your phone. If you can't get into a room, try to conceal yourself behind an object.

FIGHT. If you can't run or hide, fighting is the last resort if your life is in danger. Commit to what action you are going to take and act with physical aggression in an attempt to incapacitate the shooter.

"Always be aware of your environment and always have an exit plan," Weaver said.

More here:
WITH POLL | 'The wife and I no longer go to places that don't allow open carry' - Texarkana Gazette

Letters to the Editor| The Columbus Dispatch

I am 100% with Kathie Bailey May 19 letter "Sorry, Mike, no more'."

The three issues required to be met by a politician to garner her vote are spot-on.

Well said. We must continue to speak out and then vote.

Kathleen Rosati,Westerville

Ho hum. Another mass shooting by a man carrying a legal paramilitary weapon bought legally by the 18-year-old but then modified.

Officials say the motive wasracism, no doubt fed by those in conservative media (Foxs Tucker Carlson included), piggybacking on the fear of a non-existent Critical Race Theory, not satisfied with cancelling history.

More: Our view: Proposed laws open Ohio kids up to hateful ideology, racist conspiracies

These fearmongers, backed by a majority of Republican elected officials, through willful agreement or dead silence, have introduced a new fear tactic: the replacement theory, which implies that minorities are coming to replace us, the whites.

Blacks, whose descendants were brought here as slaves centuries before ourEuropean descendants arrived, and who were counted by our Framers as 3/5 of a person, are here to replace us?

Latinos are coming to take our jobs?

The jobs most of us dont want?

More: Greater Columbus schools lack teacher diversity, and some fear HB 616 could make it worse

Hatred and ignorance have caused Republicans toabandon their principles while also abandoning the Constitution, ignoring Supreme Court nominations and election results, and allowing the misinterpretation of The Second Amendment to destroy so many lives.

They willingly choose to cause fear for two reasons they have nothing positive to offer our country, and because of their own fears fear of Trump, and, mostly, fear that standing up against racism, hate and the NRA will end the cash gravy train that they are riding.

Greg Ward, Dublin

More: How to submit guest opinion columns to the Columbus Dispatch

I read Stan Fulk's May 3 letter, "No one is saying you can't be LGBTQ+" inresponse to Jasmine Nicole Miller's April 28 column, "Transwoman: HB 616 a step against love,' understanding'."

More: Letters: Columbus needs Amtrak badly. Rent control isn't a good idea for Columbus.

So, since House Bill 616 would ban both instruction and materials about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade in all public and most private schools,we can conclude thatnoinstruction and materials about being heterosexual (or, for that matter, anything other than heterosexual) will be included as well...? (Hmmm.)

Jim Mergner, Columbus

More: How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch

I couldnt agree more with Kathie Baileys May 19 letter "Sorry, Mike, no more'."

Her letter summarizes the feelings of a great number of Ohioans.

More: Who's Matt Huffman? The Lima man running the show at the Ohio Statehouse

I am a registered Republican but DeWine and the entire Republican party has moved too far right for me,and many more people than the Trump Republican party has realized.

They will find out however at the next election.The real question is, where are the moderate candidates in either party?

Chet Ridenour,Worthington

Note from Opinion Editor Amelia Robinson: Today's page features two viewsopposing student loan debt forgiveness, which isbeing considered by President Joe Biden.

What do you think of the subject and the views?

Let us know in a letter to the editor of 200 words or less sent to Letters@Dispatch.com. Include your name, address and phone number.

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Letters: Mike DeWine has moved too far to the right - The Columbus Dispatch

The Alabama Legislatures 2022 regular session ended recently, marking the conclusion of a successful quadrennium that began in 2019. Throughout four regular sessions and numerous special sessions, I am proud to say that my colleagues defended Alabamas conservative values, fought for hardworking Alabamians in every corner of our great state, and took significant steps to strengthen Alabamas future and economy.

In this past session alone, lawmakers helped spearhead $160 million worth of annual tax cuts for Alabama families, small businesses, farmers, and retirees.

Thanks to conservative fiscal management by the legislature in recent years, we were able to deliver these much-needed tax cuts to ease the burden on Alabamians without negatively affecting vital government services, such as law enforcement, infrastructure, and education.

At the same time, weve made historic strides toward expanding affordable, high-speed internet access to all Alabamians, regardless of their zip code. Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville, has been a stalwart leader in this critical effort, and the result has been not only unprecedented investments and public-private partnerships related to broadband expansion, but also innovative, comprehensive planning that will guarantee resources are allocated strategically, efficiently, and as expeditiously as possible.

On that note, innovation has been an overarching theme of this quadrennium for the legislature.

Along with Governor Kay Ivey, her administration, legislative colleagues, and private sector stakeholders, we concluded our work with the Alabama Innovation Commission and put legislation in motion that formed the Alabama Innovation Corporation. I am honored to serve as an ex-officio board member as well vice-chair of the Corporation, and Im thrilled at the progress we have made in a short time at cementing the Yellowhammer State as a burgeoning hub for 21stcentury entrepreneurship and technology.

From electric vehicles and modern automotive manufacturing to the aerospace and defense industry, biomedicine, cutting-edge scientific research, precision agriculture, and landmark developments at the Port of Mobile, the Alabama Legislature has proactively supported the growth of well-paying jobs and greater opportunity in all 67 of our counties.

My colleagues have also been laser-focused at guaranteeing our workforce is able to meet the demands of a 21st century economy. While we still have work to do, this quadrennium fashioned several pieces of legislation that compensate and treat our teachers like the professionals they are while striving to see all our students reach their full potential.

Its certainly notable that Alabama Republicans tackled all of this while not compromising on our values, core beliefs, or way of life.

We took steps to further secure our elections, including a ban on curbside voting and limiting the influence that private funds have on elections in Alabama, ultimately strengthening the integrity of our elections. Even though wed put our election system and processes up to anyone elses nationwide, we can never stop working to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.

Additionally, Alabama Senate Republicans know that the Second Amendment codifies inalienable rights that we will never allow to be infringed. After years of work, my colleagues and I were elated to pass constitutional carry and the Second Amendment Preservation Act, pushing back on President Joe Bidens radical gun control agenda.

Finally, and most importantly, the Alabama Legislature has been a champion for the most critical right of all the sacred, God-given right to life. With the Supreme Court of the United States potentially on the cusp of overturning the disastrous Roe v. Wade decision, Alabama Republicans this quadrennium have prepared the people of our state for this very moment.

By passing a constitutional amendment declaring Alabama a pro-life state and passing the most pro-life law in the country, we are ready and willing for the State of Alabama to again have the power to protect the unborn. Nothing is more important than being a voice for the voiceless and protecting the most vulnerable among us.

In Fiscal Year 2022, the legislature made a $772 million investment in communities across the state with will impact Alabamians for generations. Lawmakers appropriated the first round of federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in January to assist with challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is imminent that we will be tasked with allocating a second round of federal dollars, and I am confident that we will again make fiscally sound investments for the future of all Alabamians

I am proud of the work the Alabama Legislature has accomplished these past four years, but Im also filled with hope for the future of our state knowing that the best is yet to come.

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Opinion | The conservative foundation is laid and Alabama is ready to build back better - Alabama Political Reporter

U.S. Rep. Bob Good handily defeated a challenge by Charlottesville native Dan Moy for the 5th District Republican nomination Saturday.

The GOP used a convention at Hampden-Sydney University for its selection process to pick a candidate for Novembers election.

Good will now face off with Charlottesville native Josh Throneburg, a Democrat, in a battle for a seat in Congress. Throneburg secured his partys nomination in April after Andy Parker failed to get an appropriate number of signatures needed to appear on a primary ballot.

I want to thank the delegates from across the 5th District who came to Farmville and took on the responsibility of electing their Republican nominee for Congress, Good said in a statement Saturday. I am humbled and honored that they have once again placed their trust in me to fight for their values in Washington.

Good secured his bid for reelection with 84% 1,488 to 271 of Saturdays votes. Among Halifax delegates, the vote was a bit closer at 52 for Good and 23 for Moy, according to the weighed calculations.

I want to congratulate Congressman Bob Good on his victory, Moy, who made a South Boston appearance in March to seek delegates for his campaign, said in a Saturday statement.

Now it is time to unite and focus on keeping the 5th District red, Moy said. I fully endorse him for his reelection and look forward to continuing to build the Republican committee in Charlottesville and support our nominee.

Good is running for his second term in the United States House of Representatives after winning the seat in 2020. He ousted then-U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman in an unconventional GOP convention held drive-thru style amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While a majority of the sprawling 5th District remains the same and includes all of Halifax County newly redrawn maps added Goods hometown of Lynchburg as well as new counties in the east near Richmond.

Throneburg, who recently appeared at the TJM Community Center in Cluster Springs, said fewer than 2,000 of party faithful turned out for Saturdays convention, representing only 0.02% of the population Virginias 5th-District.

This district has lacked real representation for far too long, Throneburg said in a statement. The reality is that Bob Good failed the people he serves.

Throneburg said the sitting congressman hasnt passed notable legislation and failed to bring federal money to the district he serves.

On the other hand, Good in his Saturday statement after the convention pointed to 31 pieces of legislation hes introduced on issues from lockdowns to the Second Amendment.

From day one, I made serving my constituents a priority Good said. We didnt just wait for people to call us.

Good and his office have also helped more than 2,000 Virginians cut through bureaucratic red tape, his news release stated.

So far, we have helped our constituents recover over $9.5 million that was owed to them from the IRS, VA, Small Business Administration, Social Security and many more federal agencies, Good said.

Throneburg also attacked Goods endless culture wars in his release.

Ive been meeting with voters in this district for more than a year, and what I have heard over and over is that people here arent invested in partisan politics: what they want is a representative in DC who is looking out for them, not a person who is there to serve his own agenda and his own ambition. Thronburg said. Bob Goods two-year record demonstrates that his priorities dont lie with the district.

On the point of politics, Good blames the Democrats control of Washington for skyrocketing prices of gas, groceries and rent.

I believe voters are going to give Republicans a chance to control Congress and stop the Biden agenda in its tracks, Good said. We must rise to that challenge, and do what we say we are going to do.

Read more:
Good wins nomination in battle for 5th District - YourGV.com

The Second Amendment reads: 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.

Most people think that this amendment was included in the Constitution to protect the right to bear arms (i.e., firearms). However, when I read Carol Andersons interesting, well-written, and very well documented book The Second, it became clear to me that this was not really the case at all.

The Second Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights to assure the Southern states that they would be able to continue to have militias in order to put down slave revolts and to hunt down runaway slaves.

James Madison needed to keep the Southern states in the Union and on board for ratification of the Constitution. That required acquiescence to safeguarding their ability to continue slavery. The amendments to the Constitution that make up the Bill of Rights are about individual rights; therefore, the right to have a militia could not be included there. However, a militia needed armed men, and thus, the individual right to bear arms was a means to put the right to a militia in the Constitution and keep the Southern states in the Union.

Another aspect of the Second Amendment speaks about the right of the people to bear arms. People when the Constitution was drafted meant white male citizens. Black people, enslaved or free, were not considered citizens. Immediately after the ratification of the Constitution, all states but one (Vermont) passed laws prohibiting Black people from owning and using guns, presumably to make absolutely sure that the right to bear arms was a white right, not a universal right.

Thus, the Second Amendment assured white supremacy. Anderson shows clearly in her book that, to the present day, Black individuals who legally carry a gun are treated differently from white gun carriers by law enforcement, and this not infrequently leads to the killing of African Americans who were legally carrying a gun.

The U.S. Supreme Court ignored the militia part of the one-sentence Second Amendment in the Heller vs. District of Columbia decision in 2008 when it ruled, 5 to 4, that The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. This was essentially reaffirmed in the McDonald vs. Chicago decision of the Supreme Court in 2010 (also 5 to 4). There have been no state militias in the U.S. since the National Guard was established as replacement by the Militia Act of 1903.

The consequences of the Heller and McDonald Supreme Court rulings have been devastating. Gun ownership has skyrocketed in the U.S., contributing to the significant recent rise in gun homicides and injuries, as well as to suicides by guns, gun accidents, and use of deadly force by law enforcement who are afraid of people they deal with having a gun, legally or not.

The wording of the Second Amendment does not support the notion that the intent of the original framers was to guarantee in the Constitution an individuals right to own and use guns for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. Rather, as pointed out in Andersons book, the right to bear firearms was connected to the need of the Southern states to have armed militias, consisting of white men to keep Black slaves in their place.

More mass shootings have occurred while I was writing this: 10 dead and 3 wounded in Buffalo in what appears to have been a white supremacist, anti-Black act of gun violence. And in Milwaukee at least 17 people were injured in a shooting where police recovered no less than 10 guns at the scene (likely handguns).

Why are we waiting to ban all semiautomatic rifles and all handguns outside ones home for which there is no traditionally lawful purpose. Self-defense in the home, if one sees a need for that, can be accomplished with a handgun provided that it is safely stored and fitted with a trigger-lock and has a limited magazine capacity.

And there is no place in the U.S. for ghost guns that circumvent any sort of regulation, such as universal background checks, age limits, red flag laws, stolen-gun reporting requirements, and so on.

How many more people have to die in the U.S. because of the lack of common-sense gun regulation and our misinterpretation of the Second Amendment?

Maarten Bosland, a former Oak Park resident, is a member of Gun Responsibility Advocates.

Excerpt from:
The Second Amendment revisited - Wednesday Journal