Supreme Court rulings, NRA are to blame for our gun culture

If I were a police officer today in Chicago, I’d probably do the same thing as officer Angelo Wells Jr. ("A bullet to the leg put a Chicago police officer on the path to the suburbs" — June 20).

Aside from the reason he did it, there’s another reason I’d do it: It’s called the totally wrong rulings by the Supreme Court regarding the Second Amendment. The existence of a ridiculous organization known as the National Rifle Association has also contributed to it.

The standard view, after my parents' and grandparents' generations experienced the Al Capone gangster era, was that the proliferation of guns would only create chaos.

I believe that the majority of criminal and illegal activity we experience in our society and country can be attributed to one main issue: the lack of gun control. And to not address the issue of gun control is called insanity, which is to continue to do the same thing repeatedly and expect different results.

John Glatz, Beverly-Morgan Park

Let’s talk about gangs

In Friday’s letters to the editor, reader Steve Herr asked Mayor Brandon Johnson why his plans to end the city’s gun violence problem are failing.

The answer may be that the problem has been mislabeled. The proper label is Chicago’s gang problem. The proliferation of guns illegally in the hands of these gang members is certainly a problem. However, to blame the inanimate object, guns, for the violence and death that is occurring avoids the much more difficult problem of dealing with the people who are committing murder and mayhem across the area. Better we ask our elected officials about that.

William J. Desmond, Beverly

Clear beaches of troublemakers

Ald. Lamont Robinson's solution to violence at the beaches punishes only the law-abiding, taxpaying citizens who are entitled to use their beaches. Robinson and many public officials don't seem to realize that the way to stop the violence is to restrict the criminals causing the violence. This has been only too true for too many years in too many communities in this country.

Perhaps our leaders should be required to attend classes in human behavior before trying to "rule" their little kingdoms. It's very simple. Punish and restrict the criminals. Reward the law-abiding people.

Sherry Szilage Stoffel, North Aurora

Vandalizing Buckingham Fountain was foolish

Whoever they are, the vandals who dyed Buckingham Fountain's water red deserve whatever disapproval and punishment they get — if apprehended, tried and convicted — plus made to pay the cost of its restoration to normal. Defacing public assets only makes the perpetrators look lame-brained and antisocial; it does not draw adherents to support whatever idea or cause they had in mind.

Never has such vandalism ever had the intended influence on the forces that brought about another war in a distant land that they decided to protest. It was an act of witless defacing of public property, not an assertion of any noble argument that they may have had in mind. Rather, it was spoiled brat childishness, pure and simple; bad citizenship in action that has had the opposite effect from what they intended.

Ted Z. Manuel, Hyde Park

Where did these all-star surgeons come from?

It’s notable that the brilliant Northwestern surgical team featured in "Northwestern surgeons perform one of the first 'awake' kidney transplant surgeries" consisted of Dr. Satish Nadig, Dr. Vinayak Rohan, and Dr. Vicente Garcia Tomas.

There’s not a common “American” name in the lot. We are already a nation of immigrants, but our "American blood" could use a lot more of that kind of "poisoning."

Richard Wetzel, Old Town

College radio touts local artists

I recently read the Chicago music scene article by Selena Fragassi and found it highly insightful. While commercial radio stations WXRT and Q101 were linked to the success of the artists mentioned, I believe the article missed an important element: the significant role played by college and community radio stations that have also supported the local music scene.

Stations such as WCSF (University of St. Francis), WLUW (Loyola University), CHIRP Radio and many others have long been the unsung heroes of the music industry, particularly for emerging local artists, as they serve as the first exposure for new talent and provide a channel for innovation and non-mainstream music. The DJs and music directors at these stations are usually passionate music fans who are deeply committed to discovering and promoting fresh sounds to broader audiences.

Tune into a local college or community radio station's local music programming to find your next favorite artist before they make it in the mainstream.

Anthony Musiala, WCSF radio station manager

Justice Thomas’ ‘historical’ flaw

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ argument that one must look at the "historical" nature of the Second Amendment is a load of bull. First, there is no basis in the Constitution for imposing the historical use standard. That is something that Thomas made up out of thin air to justify his position.

Second, if the argument is that historical nature is just following the original intent and strict construction of the Constitution, Thomas clearly isn’t adhering to that argument. The Second Amendment is quite clear as to what it is about, but Thomas, like many, ignores the first 12 words of the amendment and disregards the history of the amendment. He instead concocts an argument that is not based on either the language of the Second Amendment or the history of the United States and the Constitutional Convention.

It was refreshing to see that at least eight justices restored a little bit of common sense and accuracy to the Second Amendment. But we have a long way to go.

Peter Felitti, Lincoln Square