Winston-Salem Journal LTE SU 05/06/12

A friend to everyone

I'd like to encourage all voters on May 8 to give David Plyler all the support they can for his re-election as Forsyth County commissioner. Dave Plyler has devoted his career to the welfare of Forsyth County. He has done, in my opinion, a perfect job as county commissioner. I would nominate him for a citizenship award: most outstanding citizen in the Kernersville area.

He is a friend to everyone. He cares for the rich and the poor. They are all the same to him.

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JOHN LEWIS FARRINGTON JR.

Kernersville

Equal rights

I stand with all who vote "no" on May 8 to the proposed amendment to our North Carolina constitution. By voting "no," we will be demonstrating our belief in equal rights for all of our citizens.

The proposed amendment is ill-advised, unwarranted and wrong. From the very beginning of our country and our state, people have struggled to adhere to the collective wisdom of our forefathers and the wise teachings of ancient sages that all people are created equal.

I ask all who vote on May 8 to let it be known, by voting "no," that you stand clearly for equal rights for all North Carolina citizens.

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THADDEUS AL WHEELER

Blowing Rock

Third-party problems

Your April 29 editorial, "A third party advances," makes Americans Elect's bogus online third-party effort sound like a great idea, until you give it some real thought. There are two big problems: no beneficial impact on our electoral process and an elitist disregard for many voters. As your editorial recognized, as bad as our elections look, third-party presidential campaigns have done little good in recent contests.

Well … maybe they elected Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. How'd that work out for those who voted for Ross Perot or Ralph Nader?

We all know that our big problems are uncontrolled money and a nonresponsive Congress. If Americans Elect really wanted to do something rather than show off its clever Internet format, why not focus on congressional districts or senate seats where a third-party candidate might actually be elected and affect the balance of power in Congress?

The bigger downside of Americans Elect, strangely enough, is that it will penalize the same people as the recent voter-ID drives. It minimizes the votes of the poor, who lack access, and the elderly. Widespread Internet access is still very rare. (So fix that first!) According to Pew studies, Internet use sinks well below 50 percent as people age. Overall, only 77 percent are Internet users and 66 percent of us have broadband service. Will the 15th Amendment read: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied ... by lack of broadband."?

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DAVE FERGUSSON

Winston-Salem

North Carolina defines itself

Some of the signs that we posted against Amendment One mysteriously went missing. It seems that the mere presence of a sign opposing the amendment has offended supporters to no end and they feel the compulsion to remove them. No worries, there are other signs, there are other leaflets, there are other buttons.

This issue goes beyond the mere trappings of a political campaign; it goes to the core of how the state of North Carolina will define itself to the rest of the country, the rest of the world, and to its future generations. As other writers have espoused in these pages over the past weeks, there are many valid practical reasons as to why Amendment One should be voted down. I will not belabor these reasons further. The core of my opposition is that here, in the year 2012, the legislators of this state have chosen to put the civil rights of a minority of its citizens up for a popular vote and indelibly confer second-class citizenship to that minority within the founding document of this state.

So what if we are the only Southern state without such an amendment? That should be a badge of honor. To paraphrase an old parental adage, "If South Carolina jumps off a cliff does North Carolina have to follow?"

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RANDALL PEGRAM

Kernersville

Unbelievable

I read the opinion page on April 24 as I do every day and just could not believe the letter "It's not about discrimination." Please!

Oh my God. To quote, "...because one cannot equate the unnatural, abominable and immoral acts of sodomy and oral sex with the God-ordained, natural and morally accepted, time-honored relationship between man and woman (wife)."

For one, does this man not know what President Clinton did that wasn't "sex?" Does he not know what many teens do in order to not disturb their virginity? I would ask him another personal question but cannot in this column. Does he not know that heterosexual men and women have anal sex (sodomy)? Has he been living under a rock?

And how is marriage "morally correct and honorable" when we have so many in our society who get divorced over and over and not even for the biblical reason of adultery; but just because they are tired of being married or some such stupid reason? If you look at our homosexual couples, they have stable and committed lives, unlike many of our "morally correct and honorable" married ones.

I just had to get it off of my chest. I am pleased that most of the letters seem to be against the amendment. Let's hope it shows in the polls.

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LOIS VonCANNON

Kernersville

An admirable job

During my administration, Glenn Cobb began his governmental service in the Department of Human Resources. As director of Boards, Commissions, and Legislative Affairs, he was tasked with presenting the legislative goals of the department to a legislature controlled by the Democrats. He did an admirable job and received praise from both Democrats and Republicans. This ability to reach across the aisle would serve him well as the District 74 representative.

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JIM MARTIN

FORMER GOVERNOR, NORTH CAROLINA

Mooresville

Sexton did not make her day

Your May 1 Page 1 banner read, "Sexton: Guns in parks no big deal." In his column, "An unscientific poll about guns in parks," he claims that the new law that allows guns to be carried openly is just fine.

I disagree. If I saw him or anyone else casually sporting a firearm, I would wish to beat a hasty retreat. Who is to say that the gun carrier doesn't indulge in one beer too many, or take offense to a remark?

Might he feel threatened by my dog?

No problem, he could just reference his handy semi-automatic and smile that Charlton Heston way to indicate that he has the upper hand.

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LIZ WILSON