The glass is half-empty: After reading Patricia Calhoun's "A Mile High," in the March 1 issue, I have to wonder what she thinks the solution might be.
Should our state welcome murderers like Donta Page with open arms just so a few drunks don't have to wait a day or two for touchy-feely treatment? Better that we lock them up, too.
Ray Randolph
via the Internet
The glass is half-full: The recent judicial-panel decision (and some of the attorney responses) regarding the application of the death penalty to Donta Page -- the convicted rapist and first-degree murderer of Peyton Tuthill -- should clearly point out to the rest of us that folks can be highly educated, eloquent in their language...but overall morons in their conclusions.
J. Matthew Dietz
Denver
Guns on the run: Eric Dexheimer's "Bad Guys, Legal Guns," in the March 1 issue, barely mentions concealed-carry permits, but it really points out a very valid reason why holders of those permits don't want the list of their names to be made public: It doesn't pay to advertise if you don't want the goons going for your guns!
And for those who think that the goons are going to get concealed-carry permits -- check your county and see what you would have to go through to get one. In my county, it starts with about a hundred bucks up front, non-refundable, then passing tests and background checks more stringent than required just to legally purchase a gun and then passing the sheriff's own personal test -- whatever he wants. And he doesn't have to tell you why he didn't like your hairdo!
Name withheld on request
Bad behavior: I commend you for publishing one of the most compelling articles I have ever seen stating the futility of firearms laws that SAFE and HCI push. As you said, bad guys don't obey these or any future laws.
The title "Bad Guys, Legal Guns" is somewhat misleading, however. As soon as that rat Charles Taylor stole those guns, they became illegal. As a member of the National Rifle Association, I support Project Exile anywhere and everywhere -- even for juveniles. Once these subhuman slime figure out that they might go away for a long time because of that gun, they might leave it alone. It sure works in Richmond, Virginia, and it will here, too, if we have the guts to follow through.
The woman in Aurora who was terrorized by these creeps is a prime argument for "shall issue" (aka concealed carry). If she'd been armed, she might have mounted a defense instead of being scared to death. Sure, she was outnumbered, but cowards usually run when they know a potential victim is armed. Taylor and his ilk aren't scared of police. They're not afraid of jail. What makes them quake is the idea that one of their potential victims might shoot back.
The bottom line is this: Not all of us lock up all our guns. If someone tries to break in here and do me or mine harm, my wife or I will kill them. If they are stupid enough to come into my house, they are not smart enough to live.
Pat Desrosiers
Denver
Neighborhood watch: After reading T.R. Witcher's brief but informative article on the Rossonian Hotel and the development afoot on Welton Street in Five Points ("Brick by Brick," March 1), I wanted to add a note to the overview.
As a twenty-year resident of the neighborhood, I am constantly bewildered by the avoidance of planners, developers and, yes, writers, analyzing the area in recognizing one key aspect of the success, or lack thereof, in the development of the commercial district. For most of the past century, Five Points was made up of two distinct ethnic neighborhoods: Hispanic and African-American. Economically speaking, both communities saw the flight of the upwardly mobile, leaving the stigma and stereotypes of both neighborhoods and giving us the Five Points of the '60s and '70s, characterized by crime, public housing and poverty.
Slowly, the area's proximity to downtown, its historic housing stock and cultural history have been rediscovered. Today, a wonderfully diverse neighborhood, both culturally and economically, has emerged. Yet this reality is seldom acknowledged by city planners and business visionaries when speaking of a Five Points renaissance.
Business after business has failed on Welton due to the simple fact that their targeted market groups no longer exist in size to support the rather narrow direction some wish Welton Street to take. Until such time as reality over nostalgia is addressed, Welton will never achieve the success that other neighborhood commercial districts have experienced -- a healthy mix of services and attractions that are supported by and mirror the entire community as it exists today.
All the necessary ingredients are here for commercial success in this historic and diverse inner-city neighborhood. It's time to look to a new and more culturally inclusive renaissance for the Points.
Ken Miller
Denver
Information, please: I am writing to say thanks for Laura Bond's great "Home of the Rave," in the February 22 issue. It was awesome. I am a Metro student doing an essay about raves. The article helped me a lot! It was in-depth and thorough. Finding information about raves that is accurate is not easy, because they are so new.
