Didn’t come to America to get GA
In 1994, civil war broke out in my homeland, Rwanda. Like many others, I was routinely tortured and feared for my safety and my life. My only option was to escape the political insecurity and ethnic conflict that consumed my home country.
I came to Maine in 2007, with a bachelor’s degree and five years of experience as a consultant for the nonprofit Helpage Rwanda. Speaking no English and having no work authorization proved to be stumbling blocks.
I had to rely on General Assistance for a year, until I could legally get a work permit and look for jobs. As soon as I could, I found work in a meat packing plant and providing care for people with disabilities.
Within a few years, I became fluent in English. I earned a masters degree in conflict resolution and mediation and began working at a social service agency, where I work to help others escape poverty, homelessness and hunger.
Refugees are a diverse group, with many different skills, levels of education and cultural backgrounds. Those seeking asylum come here because they fear for their lives, not because they want a handout. I didn’t cross the ocean to get General Assistance. I came for a new life, for equal protection under the law, and a chance to contribute to society.
For some, this issue may be political, but for people like me, it’s a matter of survival. We must preserve General Assistance for people who temporarily need it.
Tony Bikimba
Portland
Why carry gun?
All guns, with perhaps the exception of target pistols, are designed to kill. I ask Maine gun owners, who is it you plan to kill when you fire your handgun?
Whenever gun safety and laws restricting gun ownership become public issues, much is made of the folklore that hunting and “responsible gun ownership” are ingrained in Mainers. If this is the case, why do the same responsible gun-owning Mainers feel the necessity to carry guns? Who of their fellow Mainers do they fear and are willing to kill with their handguns?
Most target ranges have silhouettes of men as their handgun targets — not bull’s-eyes but figures of men. Who are these gun owners pretending to kill? Have they ever considered the consequences of killing someone, no matter the victim? Their gun doesn’t discriminate — it’s just doing what it was created to do.
Do you really need that gun, concealed or not?
Paul Newlin
Deer Isle
Catholic church abuse
Thank you to Robert Hoatson for helping victims of sexual abuse, as reported by the BDN on April 7. I was sexually abused by Catholic priests starting in 1947 (in Belgium). Records were sealed, or destroyed, or “unavailable for 50 years.”
Is Maine’s Bishop Robert P. Deeley also trying to hide the truth behind the excuse of “privacy and confidentiality?” For the benefit of who? The “good reputation of the Church,” or “the good reputation of the abuser?” Or, in Bishop Deeley’s mind, should the victims continue to carry the burden of shame and guilt? Please, Bishop Deeley, tell us.
Robert Gossart
Salisbury Cove
Dam removal wrong
Thank you to the Penobscot River Restoration for ruining my home town of Veazie, along with Howland. They took out a perfectly good dam that was producing cheap, green electric power. This also cost the town and state over $140,000. This money will never be recovered.
Removing the dam resulted in the release of chemicals, which could be harmful to both Bangor and Veazie residents. Were citizens notified of these potential dangers? Over 3,000 truck loads of soil were hauled from the site. Where was it disposed of?
Can anyone say what good came from removing the dam? What did it prove? The worst return of salmon ever with the so-called state-of-the-art fish traps in Milford.
I’m sure proud of what was accomplished. How about you?
Joseph King Jr.
Veazie
Ranked-choice voting
Many years ago I learned that I was throwing my vote away when I cast it for a third-party candidate who had little chance of winning. That way I had helped my least favorite candidate to win. As a result, I have often voted for candidates that I didn’t like much but were better than the alternative.
The answer to this problem, which many of us have experienced, is to have an instant-runoff system, also called “ranked-choice voting,” when there are more than two candidates. It’s a simple method that voters learn very easily. In fact, 94 percent of voters surveyed in the 2011 Portland mayoral election said the ballot design and voting instructions were “easy to understand.” We can vote for our favorite candidate without wasting our vote if that candidate doesn’t win, because then our second choice immediately gets our vote.
Whoever wins can claim a true mandate because the rankings system provides unprecedented insight into what the electorate is really thinking. This voting method does not favor any party. Because this reform would take effect in both primaries and general elections, candidates from all parties would have to be more moderate and capable of attracting a broad base of support. And by competing for first and second choice rankings, candidates are also discouraged from attacking each other with negative ads that we all hate.
We’re going to have a referendum on this next year. I urge all to support it.
Peter Rees
Trenton
No need for concealed carry
Thank you to the BDN for the April 8 editorial, “No need to change gun safety tradition.” We can think of no logical reason why the citizens of Maine should carry concealed weapons, especially if there is no permitting or firearms safety training process in place. The proposed bill, LD 652, will raise uncertainty and discomfort in the minds of non-carriers about the people we meet on the street, in public places, and in other vehicles. Our safety and the safety of our families would be compromised by the passage of this bill.
Gun ownership and gun use for hunting are long-standing Maine traditions, upheld by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, with modern court interpretations of that amendment. We are not opposed to these traditions. We are opposed to the idea that anyone — anyone — can have a loaded, concealed handgun in one’s vehicle or on one’s person. That impinges upon our freedom to assess our safety and the safety of others in public places in Maine.
Edwana Meisner
James McCleave
Bangor