The Readers' Forum: Friday letters

Glorified violence

Most of us recognize that — because it sells — the broadcast media glorifies violence. Routinely and relentlessly. When we, as a society, play fast and loose with deadly weapons, we should consider the consequences. We should think hard about vigilante psychology, self-styled and self-appointed, turned loose among us — media cowboys or cool public avengers — who "compensate" for (usually outgunned) law enforcement. Is this really what we want for our children and our grandchildren? Where everyone must go armed for fear everyone else is? A video-game world where disagreements escalate to fatality, where "disrespecting" or traffic infractions carry lethal consequences?

Public opinion in this newspaper and elsewhere makes clear the General Assembly acted against the public interest by permitting weapons in public parks. The Winston-Salem City Council acted rightly in protecting us against this wrong-headed policy. But now Forsyth County commissioners talk about guns at Tanglewood and other county parks. What responsible adult would subject a child to this danger?

The arguments, the same old vigilante stuff, are championed by an ambitious official with an imperfect record of obeying the laws that inconvenienced him.

We deserve better than this. We shouldn't have to live in fear of violent people — whether they're bent on hurting us or "protecting" us. The gun lobby will always tout the Second Amendment, but the real issue is quiet enjoyment of public parks for our children.

A civil society comes from more law enforcement and in better education about violence, not from loose cannons in public parks.

GAIL G. McNEILL

Winston-Salem

Things have changed

In the course of my 71 years, I have witnessed a significant change in the interpretation of "separation of church and state" among Southern Baptists. My earliest understanding of the relation between church and government was taught to me by my Southern Baptist Church. Because of the religious persecution suffered at the hand of Colonial, theocratic government entities, Baptists became champions of religious freedom. In keeping with this history, I was taught that being a determined advocate of the separation of church and state was one of the distinctive features of our denomination.

In 1946, what is now the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Freedom opened an office in Washington. The Southern Baptist Convention was one of the denominations instrumental in establishing the joint committee. The mission was to be an advocate for the separation of church and state. For years the SBC was one of the primary financial contributors to the agency, and in 1980, a Southern Baptist became the executive director.

Beginning in 1979, a strong fundamentalist minority in the SBC began a movement to gain control of the denomination, and by the mid 1980s that control was secure. Everything in the denomination changed, and in 1991 all funding to the joint committee ceased. The SBC is now one of the greatest opponents of the concept of church and state separation.

If the issue of sectarian prayer at government meetings had been raised 40 years ago, the Baptist position would have been very different than it is today.

CHARLES FRANCIS WILSON

Winston-Salem

Sum It Up

The Sum It Up question from Sunday was: Are you satisfied with North Carolina's gun-control laws?

North Carolina firearms laws are on the web in a PDF file of 45 pages. It's a great set of laws, just wonderful, really marvelous and so well crafted, but while scanning this document, I detected as many exemptions as laws. No gun law makes us safe.

KAM BENFIELD

Rural Hall

North Carolina's gun laws have finally more fully recognized the Second Amendment. Like those laws of 30 states, we now have a "Castle Doctrine" law, and like 49 states, we have "concealed carry" (the state of Illinois being the only exception). There is no greater basic right than to protect yourself and your family from harm by the criminal and crazy elements of society.

To all those anti-gun folks, I would ask them, would you put a sign in your front yard saying, "There are no guns in this house?" Remember the adage, "With guns we are citizens, without guns, we are subjects."

BRUCE GUSTAFSON

Winston-Salem

Yes, they are justified with the exception of not allowing out-of-state concealed permits in North Carolina, which I feel they should. The charge for the course is way too high.

LOWELL NUDD

Kernersville