Letters for April 5, 2018

The gun debate rolls on

Re “Maybe definition is nothing” (letters, March 22):

Kudos to the U.S. kids who have demonstrated greater depth of thought and moral compass than many of their adult conservators. Thanks to each of you who made a commitment to personal action. Thanks for showing the best of what public education can be. Thanks for demonstrating your knowledge and appreciation for heretofore American values.

Your grandparents’ generation also answered the challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” From civil rights to Vietnam, from rebuilding communities from within to being involved with emergent technologies of the 21st century, that generation has watched with sadness, and now alacrity, that which was built up be torn down.

So now it is your turn. You’ve made a fine start. Do not be afraid; your bravery will be rewarded. Keep a journal. It does not have to be sentences and paragraph a day—a simple word daily to describe something you learned, something that fascinated you, something that disgusted or saddened you. Over the years it will all come back to you. Here’s to the journey!

Shayne Del Cohen

Reno

Mr. William Micklish should follow his own advice. He needs to make sure he knows what he is talking about regarding “single action vs. double action” handguns. These terms are NOT exclusive to revolvers, as he claimed. There are single action and double action semi-automatic handguns as well as revolvers. He is typical of the rabid gun-grabbers, spewing nonsense and trying to pass it off as fact.

Stephen Bloyd

Carson City

I’d like to thank William and Don for clarifying gun definitions that can be used to draw legal lines. Our legislators must consider these definitions when they draft bills in response to the number of killings we’ve endured for far too long. Consider the following: Many think repealing bump stocks is a move forward. I assure you, however, that a search of YouTube that includes “AR-15” and “automatic” will convince you that a bump stock ban is meaningless. You must draw the lines based on mechanical functionality. To satisfy the Second Amendment, I recommend a minimum of two manual interactions to fire any single round—cock/fire or load/fire. For double-barrel shotguns, you get two rounds before you must manually reload. Put a reasonable limit on the number of rounds that can be loaded onto any other weapon—six long seemed sufficient for handgun manufacturers, so why not that for both handguns and long guns? If you need more, then you have to jump through more rigorous hoops and jump over higher hurdles to purchase and/or own these more lethal devices. Again, the basic concept is to limit the damage that can be done by any one person when they slip through the inevitable cracks of whatever laws get put in place.

Michel Rottmann

Virginia Highlands

Corrections

Re “More creeping common sense on drugs” (Let Freedom Ring, March 29):

The commentary reported, “The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is now accepting volunteers for a phase III study of the effectiveness of MDMA for treatment of Post Traumatice Stress Disorder (PTSD). Phase III is the final stage before legalization.”

Actually, enrollment in the Phase 3 trials has not started. MAPS currently expects enrollment to begin in May or June. People who are interested in learning more can visit maps.org/participate.

The commentary further reported results from the completed Phase 2 clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy that were just from the first trial. These are the correct overall Phase 2 results: “In MAPS’ completed Phase 2 trials with 107 participants, 61 percent no longer qualified for PTSD after three sessions of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy two months following treatment. At the 12-month follow-up, 68 percent no longer had PTSD. All participants had chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD, and had suffered from PTSD for an average of 17.8 years.”

We apologize for the errors.