Armed citizens
So now we have a judgment from a higher court that it is legal for a private citizen to openly carry a loaded gun in public (“Matter of protection,” Tribune-Herald, July 25).
Concealed carry of guns by citizens with gun permits is still prohibited, but always subject to legal challenge. A private citizen carrying a loaded handgun in public for protection is a person living in fear, and people who are armed and afraid are dangerous.
If citizens are going to be armed in the street, I would prefer they be restricted to open carry and bear the mark of someone afraid. Although shopkeepers might not be allowed to refuse them service at business establishments, everyone else can properly shun them on sight.
William J. Mautz
Hilo
Pohoiki
A diamond in the rough she might be spared,
A miracle of God He heard our prayers.
Though the foliage has changed and the landscaping,
This place stands strong and is reshaping.
Back in the year 1982, this place to me was brand new.
So little has changed from that time,
Still in my heart I choose to find; happiness where my babies first swam,
Where the boats came in on that slippery land.
Warming up in that tiny warm pond,
Kids all smiles another day’s gone.
Many of us have cherished memories,
Of this place we call Pohoiki.
Christine Gusman
Pahoa
