Opinion

Letter To The Editor: Background Checks For Gun Sales

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By ANNE MANNING
Albuquerque

 

We have a gun violence problem in New Mexico – the number of deaths and injuries at the hands of people who shouldn’t have their hands on a gun is very distressing. With lives at stake, a background check to buy a gun is not too much to ask! House Bill 50 and Senate Bill 48 would require such checks for ALL gun sales in New Mexico, and as a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, I strongly support this bill.

 

I grew up in England and was actually a good shot with a .22 rifle. My late husband was a devoted gun owner, and there were always guns in our home. Read More

Letter To The Editor: In Support Of Background Checks

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By STEPHANIE NAKHLEH
Los Alamos
 
New Mexico has incredibly high rates of gun violence, including the highest rate of law enforcement shot and killed in the line of duty.
 
Not coincidentally, we have some of the country’s laxest gun laws—it’s easy for felons and domestic abusers to avoid background checks by buying guns on websites like armslist.com or at gun shows. States that close the background-check loophole see 53 percent fewer law enforcement officers shot and killed and 47 percent fewer women shot and killed by intimate partners.
 
Our legislator, Representative
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Letter To The Editor: Thank You Los Alamos Community For Extraordinary Kindness

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By IDA S. PACHECO and Family

Thank you Los Alamos community for your kind and encouraging words, beautiful flowers, lovely cards, thoughts, prayers and Masses.

All that you shared to console our hearts in the loss of Raymond David Pacheco, have comforted and sustained us.

Thank you most sincerely for your generous support and sympathy. Read More

Letter To The Editor: Need For Freedom Of The Press

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By KELLY DOLEJSI
Los Alamos
 
When I was a student at Western New Mexico University, I learned first-hand the power of the media to protect people who have no influence or authority of their own.

I had zero training — WNMU didn’t offer journalism classes — but at 22, I became editor-in-chief of the university’s newspaper. The university president had just received a 20-percent raise, so my two-person staff and I decided that would be our top-of-the-fold, front-page news. We put some sports and departmental news in the middle, and then on the back, a picture of our crowded parking lots and a wry Read More

Letter To The Editor: A Tribute To Pastor Granillo

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By HOLLY BATES
Los Alamos
 
I was profoundly touched by Pastor Granillo’s column, “The Love of Hate” (link), and I wanted to share this:
 
After a cruel, devastating blow during this past Christmas, I was overwhelming consumed with many of the emotions that the Pastor described in his column. As a life-long Christian, I was embarrassed and ashamed of what I had become. How could I allow this one, evil person to change me so profoundly?
 
My first reaction to this true evil was revenge, which made me even more angry. I then came upon the column from Pastor Granillo,
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Letter To The Editor: House Bill 50 … Just To Clarify

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By KHALIL SPENCER
Los Alamos

I just want to clarify a couple things in response to Jody Benson’s letter as well as thank her for her engagement on the topic (link).

I did not say that we should reject House Bill 50. What I said was the original and present wording was problematic. There is still plenty of time in this legislative session to find some common ground on this
bill and amend it so it has bipartisan and gun owner support.

To excerpt from my own essay (link), what I said was “…provisions in the bill put onerous constraints on temporary transfers and casual sales between law Read More

NMVC On Indiscriminate Immigrant Raids

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NMVC News:
 
ALBUQUERQUE — James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, issued the following statement regarding the recent immigration raids in southern New Mexico:
 
“We are disturbed at the news of immigration raids in southern New Mexico and urge immigration officials to keep the best interests of all of our children and families at heart going forward.
 
“As a nation built on ingenuity, America can craft common-sense reforms to our immigration system that improve our economy and keep us safe while maintaining our American values of inclusion and
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Letter To The Editor: Straight Scoop On HB50

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By JOHN N. HORNE
Los Alamos

Dist. 43 Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard of Los Alamos is up to those old tired political tricks again. In order to bolster support for HB50, Ms. Garcia Richard jumped at the opportunity to have her picture taken with a shooting victim and then imply her bill will solve all the world’s ills regarding gun violence.

The fact of the matter is there is nothing in HB50 that would’ve had any bearing on the (Former U.S. Rep. Gabby) Giffords’ shooting. The perpetrator, Jared Lee Laughner, purchased his gun legally at a Sportsman’s Warehouse and passed the FBI NICS screening Read More

Professor Emerita Denise Fort: How Can U.S. Retain Scientific Leadership In Environmental Protection?

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By DENISE D. FORT
Professor Emerita UNM School of Law
Former director, NM Environmental Improvement Division
 
The upheaval in Washington, D.C. that is occurring now has one surprising objective – the discrediting of scientists. Science is under attack in numerous ways.
 
The assertion that climate change is a Chinese hoax was bad enough. Now the Administration has nominated a climate denier to head the EPA, taken down web pages that inform the public about agency work, and threatened to slash funding at EPA.
 
The threat comes from the Congress
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Letter To The Editor: House Bill 50

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By JODY BENSON
Los Alamos
 
House Bill 50: Relating To Crime; Requiring Criminal Background Checks On Gun Transfers Between Certain Persons; Providing Exceptions; Providing Penalties Khal Spencer’s excellent OpEd on House Bill 50—the proposed background check for all gun sales including online sales and at gun shows—offered statistics and arguments about why we should support a background check bill.
His bottom line? Support a background-check bill—but not this one.
 
I completely agree with his argument that people murdering other people
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