More gun limits are no solution

Correlation is not causality. If it were, Washington, D.C., having some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation, would have a low murder rate. It doesn't. Hawaii's low crime rate might be related to our gun laws but probably isn't.

Serious researchers looking for the causes of crime break the country down into small units to try to account for dozens of factors that could relate to crime rates.

One counterintuitive conclusion indicates that some crime rates fall as more responsible gun owners carry concealed weapons and criminals turn to less well-defended opportunities. Sadly, several recent murders in Hawaii might have been prevented if more honest citizens had been armed effectively.

Crime is too serious to try solutions based on simple correlations. We suffer when government makes policy based solely on ideology.

City's planned train system should chug off into sunset

Mayor Mufi's TheBoat is now officially canceled. So should be Mufi's train system.

The taxpayers of Oahu should not pay in perpetuity for the many sweet-sounding but fiscally unsound grand schemes of the mayor. TheBoat's ill-fated trial run pretty much proves that we can't trust Mufi's forecasts. And the train is very, very expensive.

Government employees target of Lingle's budget

I don't agree entirely with Larry Meacham's letter of (Star-Bulletin, May 13) which labeled Governor Lingle's veto of the budget bill as hypocritical.

If I were in Lingle's shoes and was as vehemently opposed to something I would probably veto the measure regardless of whether an override was imminent.

What irritates me is that Lingle seems determined to stick it to Hawaii's government employees to cure our financial woes. This seems to be another example of a Republican favoring the affluent, perhaps with high hopes of generous campaign contributions, while being an enemy to the working class.

The Democratic package is not devoid of flaws. I was hoping for something where all Hawaii residents aided in the effort instead of primarily the wealthy. At least the Democrats focused on those less likely to be hurt. Lingle's focus is on a group where the majority will be severely hurt.

What I wonder is if Lingle honestly believes she is doing the right thing. Or is this simply a political vendetta against the unions which are run primarily by Democrats?

Legislators should mess up more tax laws next session

In your article headlined “;Up in smoke”; (Star-Bulletin, May 13), I find it interesting that our Legislature, in its infinite wisdom, could find a way to waste $400,000 because of a mistake on their part. Looks like the governor was right to veto the bill as it contained technical mistakes. And now the finance chair, Rep. Marcus Oshiro, says it cannot be fixed.

I find it very curious that these highly educated women and men that we elected cannot figure out a way to fix this error. Maybe in next year's legislative session, our elected people can figure out a way to make an error that cannot be fixed and remove the tax we have to pay to sustain life — the tax on food. But that would probably be asking too much.