Letters to the Editor for Friday, May 24

Bible was written by fallible man, not God

As a youth I was subjected to 12 years of indoctrination and brain washing by the nuns and priests of the Catholic Church and have spent the last 50 years trying to recover from that damage. My philosophy now is to do no harm to others and to make my decisions based on intuition and logic. Logic tells me that Gretchen Godfrey is right on when she writes, “The Bible has been translated into different languages many times so no one knows its original content ... ” I would add that it was not physically written by “God,” it was written as hearsay by fallible man. No person existing on this planet today can possibly know what the original intent of those writings were, if they were the dreams of some hermit zoned out on some exotic weed or words actually uttered by some mystical spirit.

I respect the right for others to have their religious and spiritual beliefs and views, however I do not believe they have the right to create secular laws that require those of us who do not hold those beliefs and views to follow them. I do disagree with Gretchen that “recurring proselytizing editorial letters” have ruined the Nevada Appeal. They make it more interesting and allow the rest of us to submit letters espousing a different viewpoint.

George J. Gosselin

Carson City

Politicians grab votes via gun-rights debate

Letter writer John O’Neill suggests that the National Rifle Association might prefer to publicly stigmatize the mentally ill rather than support universal background checks that would disarm them. But if O’Neill is worried about the well-being of these tortured souls, why doesn’t he stand up to his friends in the American Civil Liberties Union who have sued to prevent their families from forcing them into institutions where they can be helped?

It’s because when their outbursts injure or kill others, O’Neill can use it as a force multiplier for his anti-gun agenda. I’m reminded of an NRA spokesman’s observation during the Clinton assault weapons debate that gun-grabbing politicians don’t enforce existing gun laws because they need gun crime as a political issue.

O’Neill’s clumsy swipe at the NRA, a retread of a 20-year-old tactic by the anti-freedom left, has missed its target and landed squarely on his own nose.

Lynn Muzzy

Minden