Bombing victims should be helped

The Boston Marathon attack was an attack on our country, not on the victims.

The costs of medical attention and, if necessary, alterations to homes required to assist victims, and other related costs,should be paid by our government.

Victims of this cowardly attack should not be put inthe position of negotiating with insurance companies as to what is or is not covered.

In the spirit of aloha, I hope that one of our representatives or senators will introduce a bill to provide the victims with the financial support they deserve.

Bill Quinlan
Haleiwa

Council goes too far with smoking bans

Locals as well as visitors deserve clean beaches. But our brave men and women in blue need to be on the streets saving lives, not on litter patrol.

The City Council is responsible for the current conditions of our beaches.It replaced a vendor who kept our beaches in pristine condition. It was informed our beaches would become ashtrays, but it ignored the warnings.

How much taxpayer money is it going to cost to remedy its mistake and enforce the rules — signage, court costs, unnecessary diversion of police personnel, alienation of tourists?

Until it makes smoking illegal, it needs to provide equal outdoor spaces to accommodate both smokers and nonsmokers. It has chased the smokers out of hotels, restaurants, rental cars and bars. Now it wants them out of the wide open spaces.

What next?

Pauline Arellano
Mililani

E-cigs are healthier smoking alternative

The positions taken by Oahu Transit Services and the city’s Department of Transportation Services, which are trying to turn e-cigarettes into a dangerous device, are ridiculous.

E-cig vapor evaporates almost immediately, as any vapor does. It does not linger in the air or fill up in a closed space. It is also a healthier alternative to real cigarettes. A study by the Roswell Park Cancer Institute showed that e-cig vapor is less dangerous than cigarette smoke.Also, the vapor does not emit any foul odors.

The Food and Drug Administration might not endorse them, but some doctors do, including Keith Ablow, who found that e-cigs work well psychologically and physically. Basically, smokers who are trying to quit have finally found a healthier alterna- tive that actually works, but, still, nonsmokers want to find a way to prevent them from having a smoke.

Thomas Nishimura
Aiea

‘Uncle DOE’ helped child be po‘okela

A recent commentary ("Faces of autism include those who fight the battle every day," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, April 9) caught the eye of my son, Chanz Palau, while he scanned the newspaper doing homework.

He asked me what "po‘okela" means in Hawaiian. When I told him it means "excellent," he asked, "Does Uncle DOE care if I become an excellent boy?"

"Uncle DOE" is the name he has given to the state Department of Education, and I can say from the bottom of my heart, yes, the DOE does care. I realized all the love Chanz has received came from his teachers and mentors, who put in countless hours of encouragement. They taught Chanz how to see past his autism and pave a pathway toward excellence.Mahalo nui loa to all of those who have helped my son Chanz become a po‘okela boy.

Pua Kamahoahoa
Pearl City

Background checks within police power

The failure of the U.S. Senate to pass the gun background check law was astonishing.

There are 4 million National Rifle Association members. Three-quarters of NRA members and more than 80 percent of citizens agree with background checks. The opponents ask why law-abiding citizens should have to comply with such requirements.

Will they ask next why law-abiding citizens should have to get driver licenses? How about law-abiding homeowners having to get building permits?

Permitting is within the police power of the state and federal governments and it exists in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens. We need that now. More than ever.

Australia passed strict gun control legislation after a 1993 mass shooting. Gun violence and suicide have declined 50 percent.

It’s time for our lawmakers to listen and for all of us to make our voices heard in Washington.

Nancy N. Grekin
Makiki Heights

Require gun owners to have insurance

I see no problem with those wanting to own guns.

Annual re-certification for gun owners, with each firearm re-registered and re-insured, should be sufficient to calm the nerves of anyone who goes to school, church, the mall, or just on the road from point A to B.

The difficulty would be with homeowners and tenants. Are these weapons being declared in home insurance policies?

Someone’s got to pay with real money for the damages done. It should not be the taxpayers.

Ben Shafer
Hauula

Answer to rape is not EC chemicals

Katie Polidoro of Planned Parenthood speaks about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and emergency contraception (EC), which is the purposeful chemical killing of a child ("Don’t make victims of rape hunt for help," Star-Advertiser, Letters, April 1).

What about the PTSD that all women suffer after realizing that they killed the only baby they may have ever had?

Do we as a society really believe that the answer to rape is the EC death of a child? We must not force anyone to kill babies with EC chemicals.

Let’s talk about counseling to help a woman get past the trauma, not killing her daughter or son. Remember, the child is half her. We must have compassion for both.

I have met people conceived in rape. They are very happy that their mothers chose life.

Steve Holck
Hawaii director, Center For Bio-Ethical Reform