Readers tackle guns in diaper bags, defend the press and tout hard-working Lions

Guns are the answer to every problem

I read your article about the 24-year-old woman sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder, and I’d like to address any readers like her.

A gun in a diaper bag? Think that through. You have a diaper bag, meaning you have kids wearing diapers in tow. What reasonable human thinks a mother with diaper wearing kids in tow has any business, in any situation, engaging in a gunfight?

What possible scenario could exist where the gun-toting mom is going to blaze away, and no similar reply is going to come her way, where she and her kids are? Gunfights are not one-way events. You start shooting at someone, and they will shoot back at you to make you stop. At you, mom. With your diaper wearing kids next to you.

That woman who will now never see her own kids grow up, whose kids will never see her, surely thought her family would somehow be safer when she bought that gun.

It’s way beyond time to stop being cowards. A gun isn’t the answer to every, or probably any problem.

A gun in a diaper bag. That 3-year-old kid gets to grow up knowing he killed his sister.

Jesse Ohlsson , Carthage, New York

Judges need to understand First Amendment freedoms of the press

The Capital-Journal recently reported charges brought up against former Marion police chief Gideon Cody regarding the Marion Record police raids, but what was not mentioned was the fact that search warrants were executed on the newsroom and residences by a judge ignorant of federal and state law mandating subpoenas of journalists.

With exception to matters of national security and child sexual exploitation, subpoenas are required under the 1980 Privacy Protection Act whereas in Kansas, K.S.A. § 60-480 et al., subpoenas of journalists are directly referenced in attaining evidence.

As a result of Judge Viar’s mistake, Joann Meyer suffered a stress-induced heart attack the day after the raid and died. Phyllis Zorn struggles with grand mal seizures now, and there are 5 federal civil suits in the works.

Too many people were traumatized by Viar’s ignorance, so I humbly beg the 10 judge members of the Kansas Judicial Education Advisory Committee to host a CLE credit for our judges to inform them of these laws to protect our First Amendment freedoms of the press.

Keri Strahler , Topeka

Community members encouraged to join Sunflower Lions

I am Lion Jerry Loney, and I am the membership chairman for our club, the Sunflower Lions of Topeka. Lions International is the world’s largest, volunteer civic service organization, with over 1.4 million members in every part of the world. We are always seeking new members.We have power and strength in our numbers, having Lion members all over the world. A Lion is a citizen of the world, since we have “family members” throughout our entire world.Around the globe, Lions unite to support the global causes of vision, hunger, the environment, childhood cancer and diabetes. By doing these international causes, we increase the service impact of Lions throughout the world.We collect used eyeglasses that are given to organizations that furnish them to needy people in third-world countries, we do vision screenings for children 6 years and young, we assist people in getting eye exams and eyeglasses whenever needed, and we do fundraising to get the finances to give back to our community in numerous ways.

We fill blessing boxes in neighborhoods with nonperishable food items, we help out with community food bank drives, and we do countless other service projects to help our citizens of Topeka and Shawnee County.Email jr_juggles@hotmail.com for more information.

Jerry Loney , Topeka

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Readers tackle guns in diaper bags, defend the press and tout hard-working Lions