Readers sound off on abortion, city crime and pet stores – New York Daily News

Manhattan: For 50 years, Republicans have had a singular goal, to end a woman’s constitutional right to make her own decisions about her reproductive health. They have played the long political game, laser-focused on what they saw as the prize, the overturning of Roe v. Wade. While Democrats allowed themselves to get tangled up in culture wars and gender battles, Republicans gerrymandered their way into local, state, federal and judicial power.
FILE – An abortion-rights supporter protests at the Mississippi Capitol on June 28, 2022, in Jackson, Miss. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)
For 50 years they relentlessly chipped away at the walls that held our right to free and safe abortions in place, their agenda so radical and cruel that as Republican-controlled states enact abortion bans they won’t even carve out exceptions for victims of rape or incest, regardless of how young they might be. But rest assured they are not done, they have already warned us that they are coming for contraception, same sex marriage and any other right that doesn’t conform with the their sick need to impose their draconian religious “values” on the rest of us.
Be assured, that the people who worked for five decades to achieve their goal won’t stop at just forcing some women into unwanted pregnancies in red states, they won’t sit idly while blue states continue to afford us the freedom to make our own choices. The moment they gain a majority in Congress and the presidency they will pass a national ban on abortion ending choice for all of us and our daughters! They are counting on us being lazy, not informed or interested enough in our own futures and not voting. They are counting on their ability to distract us with valid but unequal in magnitude topics like crime, inflation or gas prices. So to women of voting age, young and old I ask, what are you willing to give up your freedom for? Geidy Perez-Storch
Manhattan: So Mayor Adams and Gov. Hochul announced their attack on keeping guns out of Midtown by posting signs saying “no guns in Times Square”; ….absolutely brilliant! Why didn’t all of the experts think of this years ago? These geniuses are also thinking about divesting city pension fund monies from credit card companies if they don’t assist in tracing ammunition purchases, another stroke of genius. How many New York licensed pistol carriers have committed crimes with their legal firearms in Times Square, and how many gangbangers purchase their ammo using their own credit cards? Let’s put more emphasis on holding the lawmakers, district attorneys and judges more accountable. Bruce Robertson
Brooklyn: I get the paper every day at 8 a.m. when the store opens. With a bad hip, I don’t walk too fast. Today while crossing the street, I see an older Chinese man walking in the same direction. Since I’m walking slower than him, I wait until he has passed before starting behind him. He looks back at me and walks a few more steps then looks back at me again. For the next 20 feet or so, he keeps looking over his shoulder. Sadly, I realize he is worried that I am going to attack him. I slowed down so he could get farther ahead. I have been living on this block for 59 years, I don’t remember ever looking over my shoulder to check if I was safe. Just a sad day. Gregg Gallo
Newton, N.J.: I want to congratulate all the New York State and the New York City politicians for changing the name of the old jingle from “I love New York” to “I loathe New York.” Aden O’Donnell
Park Ridge, N.J.: The U.S. has stayed out of any direct military involvement in the war in Ukraine to avoid an escalation that would lead to World War III, which in all likelihood would be a nuclear war from which there would be no winner. Now that the shelling has been concentrated around the largest nuclear reactor in Europe, located in Ukraine, it’s just a matter of time before one of the missiles hits the reactor or one of the silos that stores the nuclear waste, spilling radioactive material that will contaminate all of Europe and Russia. We will then have our nuclear war. Steve Ostlund
Manhattan: Lately all the GOP does is hire lawyers to defend the indefensible. Chris Job
Yonkers: September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. As a volunteer advocate with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I am calling on my members of Congress to pass legislation to prevent suicides and support crisis care. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline must be sustainably funded so that confidential, voluntary services by trained counselors are accessible. H.R. 7116, the 988 Implementation Act, would provide federal funding and guidance to states for 988 crisis services across the nation. These centers de-escalate 98% of crisis calls without dispatching emergency services. Well-resourced crisis support systems can connect callers with local resources, including someone to talk to (call centers), someone to respond (mobile crisis teams), and somewhere to go (crisis stabilization centers). We must ensure that every state has the capacity to provide comprehensive crisis response services to help save lives. For more information, go to afsp.org/988. Join me in urging Congress to take action to stop suicide! Lori Mastrangelo
Bronx: I am 80 years old and I do not know how to get in touch with the City Council, which will make a decision about putting more large buildings in Throgs Neck, where there is no room for the people they claim to represent. This will be a death trap: There’s not enough security; seniors are being attacked, raped, beaten and their possessions stolen; and children are living in fear and being terrorized. If a new building’s elevators stop not working, they will have to walk up and down eight, nine or 10 floors to get out of and back to their apartments. Our police have their hands tied because judges send murderers back out on the street. Many blessings to the greatest city and state and to our politicians, God is watching you as well as all of us. Catherine Praino
Centereach, L.I.: I am 88 years old. I have been a Yankee fan since I was 12. Now, all of a sudden because of Amazon, we miss one game a week, unless we pay for it. With all the money baseball brings in, is this what Yankee fans deserve? Lucille Fuchs
Manhattan: As a New Yorker and lifelong pet owner, I’m well acquainted with the issue of pet stores and their puppy mill sales outlets. After years of debate, the Legislature has overwhelmingly passed the Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill, and it now awaits Gov. Hochul’s signature. This legislation prohibits pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits. Consumers would still be able to acquire any pet directly from responsible breeders, animal shelters, and rescue groups. New York is one of the largest markets for the puppy mill industry, with one of the highest numbers of pet stores that sell mill puppies. Please join me in urging Hochul to sign this popular bill into law, ending our state’s participation in the puppy mill-to-pet-store pipeline! Devin Jane Buckley
Manhattan: The News has published several sections of Unclaimed Funds lists recently. I’ve noticed that some of them — Santander Bank, starting on page 27 of Wednesday’s paper, for example — have the names alphabetized by first name! Why would anyone do it that way? John Guinan
Syracuse: William Daroff’s Aug. 30 op-ed, “Disband this biased UN commission on Israel,” is spot-on. Even by UN agency standard abysmal treatment of Israel, the Commission of Inquiry stands out for sheer embarrassing awfulness. How envious must other kangaroo courts be of such audacity! Headed by openly anti-Semitic, ardent antagonists of Israel, lavishly funded and massively staffed, with unlimited purview and tenure, its spewing of hatred, and spreading of insidious falsehoods, unless disbanded, will be utterly unfair, unconstrained and unrefuted. Richard D. Wilkins
Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News
Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News

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