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Self-defense is a personal responsibility

It upsets me that so many people are calling for a ban on or more regulations for firearms.

Yes, law enforcement's role is to protect the community, but self-defense is the responsibility of the individual. We must do our share to protect ourselves and loved ones. If that means the use of a firearm to defend ourselves, I support every effort to keep guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens.

Lawmakers should focus on those who commit crimes with the use of a firearm, as in Project Exile in Virginia, Texas and other states. They should also go after illegal guns and those who possess them.

Lastly, if you abolish the Second Amendment, which amendment will be the next to fall?

Ivan K. Nishimura

Census uses extortion to gain information

Whatever happened to freedom and privacy? The government ad campaign for the now ongoing U.S. Census attempts to motivate people by basically saying your state will get its share of federal funds but only if its residents answer the Census questionnaire. The envelope also states, "Your response is required by law."

It is offensive that government first extorts money from you through taxes, then forces you to divulge private information in order to get your money back. In other words, to get your money back from extortion, you are further extorted and your privacy is invaded, too.

Leighton Loo
Mililani

Quotables "To be literate, one must write with a fair hand. If no one can read it, it cannot be shared." Sherry Matsumoto Elementary school teacher and expert scribe Explaining the need to teach and practice good penmanship "We are not violent people. We are big people with big, loving hearts." Loia Fiaui Chairman of the FaaSamoa 2000 conference Dispelling a stereotypical image of Samoans as dangerous lawbreakers. The conference will offer attendees advice on careers, technology and education

Drug abusers motivated by selfishness

If Steve Katz (Letters, March 22) truly believes that if heroin and ice were legal the only people who would be harmed are the people who ingest it, then he doesn't understand these drugs -- or read the newspapers, or watch TV, or listen to the radio.

Further, he says that we need to get to the root of the problem and find out why we are in such pain and need to anesthetize ourselves in the first place.

Try another tack: Find out why too many of us are into immediate self-gratification, are extremely short-sighted when behaving inappropriately and place everyone else, including our children, second to our own desires.

Kevin Gagan
Mililani

UH president should resign

How long has University of Hawaii President Kenneth Mortimer lived in Hawaii? When have Hawaiian activists and university students ever been violent during a demonstration? Not since the Massie case in the late 1930s.

So why were 45-50 armed sheriffs, three paddy wagons and a canine unit brought onto the campus? Why were undercover SWAT teams present at the protest at the Board of Regents meeting, and about 40 sheriff's personnel stationed nearby, especially since Mortimer had agreed with student leaders that no police would be called unless there was violence.

Given the peaceful track record of Hawaiians and students at the university, was this force needed or was there a more insidious reason for bringing in these agencies? Was intimidation or, even worse, racial-profiling a reason for this show of force?

As a person with family members attending UH, I am gravely concerned. I call for the resignation of President Mortimer.

A. Kim
Kailua

Bingham off-ramp is too dangerous

What is it going to take before the state does something about the traffic off-ramp problem at Bingham Street?

During our Community Traffic Awareness Program this month, we stood along Bingham with signs asking motorists to slow down. But speeders stopped by police said there wasn't enough roadway or time to slow down before entering the 25 mph zone.

The chain-link fence at the house on the corner of Bingham and Farrington was recently replaced because a car coming off the freeway lost control and ran into it. Cars along Bingham near the off-ramp often park on the sidewalk to prevent being sideswiped.

The solution? The Bingham off-ramp should be closed, with drivers exiting instead on the Punahou off-ramp. Another alternative is to redesign the university off-ramp, east bound, to allow cars exiting the freeway to head in the makai direction on University Avenue without first having to drive in the mauka direction, and then making a dangerous U-turn.

Dennis Wong

Put fluoride in school milk instead of water

With an average of 3.9 decayed teeth per child, Hawaii's average dental caries is among the highest, if not the highest, in the nation. The sanest solution is to provide fluoride for them. But how?

Through surveying children of various elementary schools, we were able to determine which fluids they consumed on a regular basis. Out of 356 children, 205 mostly drink water on a regular basis and 71 said they drink milk.

We also asked the schools whether it was required for the children to drink their school milk. The reply: Students are required to take the milk with the lunch, but it is up to the child if he or she wants to drink it.

Maybe schools should mandate that, if they're not lactose-intolerant, all children should drink their milk, which could then be fluoridated instead of the community water system. This way, the fluoride would benefit the people who really need it -- the students.

Amy Young, Chad Nishizuka and Heather Huff
Sophomores, Kailua High School

Mahalo for live Internet telecast of song contest

Aloha from the Midwest! Thanks to all the wonderful people who made the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest a success, especially those who made the live Web cast possible. Many Kamehameha alumni on the mainland attending college were still up at 2-3 in the morning, (it's about 2:20 a.m. as I write) just listening to the credits scroll.

Kamehameha Schools has come a long way from the steps of Bishop Hall to its live Internet broadcast. I wish it well as the school continues to strive for excellence.

Zachariah Stillman
St. Louis, Mo.

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