Sacramento Bee readers respond to Uvalde shooting, monkeypox, Placer CEO Todd Leopold

Student plea

“Some argue Sacramento shootings show California’s tough gun laws don’t work. They’re wrong.” (sacbee.com, April 6)

I am a 9th grader at Da Vinci Junior High School. We really need to raise awareness about gun violence and try to prevent it in as many ways as possible. Recently, a nationwide school walkout took place to protest these shootings. This is just one example of how you can make a difference. I have a challenge for all Bee readers this month: Try to find ways you can help raise awareness to this problem and do what you can to speak out against school shootings. Silence equals violence. We are stronger together.

Kyla Steen

Davis

Uvalde memories

“The Uvalde, Texas, shooting finds us tired of saying it’s the guns. It’s still the guns,” (sacbee.com, May 29)

I was raised in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. We were small communities of families that worked hard to raise our children. I used to drive to San Antonio to visit friends and family. Uvalde was part of my route. In the 1980s, Uvalde had two stop lights. Most of the folks who live there are working families, mainly Latino. Not too many people noticed Uvalde. I always did — my favorite stop there was the Dairy Queen. The people of Uvalde are faced with an awful, terrible tragedy. When the cameras are gone, the families are faced with trauma recovery and will find resilience in each other. Sadly, guns will continue to politically rule. This issue will start all over again after the next group of children are killed.

Nora Benavides

Sacramento

Definitive action

“The Uvalde, Texas, shooting finds us tired of saying it’s the guns. It’s still the guns,” (sacbee.com, May 29)

Following mass shootings in the United Kingdom (1987), Australia (1996) and New Zealand (2019), all civilian automatic and semi-automatic long guns were banned — almost completely eliminating mass shootings in these countries. The U.S. should follow the lead of other countries that took definitive action to essentially stop mass shootings and sharply reduce gun killings. The killings will not end until we get rid of guns.

Harry Wang

Sacramento

No mercy

“No Jesus for Nancy Pelosi? House speaker could appeal bishop’s communion ban to Rome,” (sacbee.com, May 24)

Amen to Melinda Henneberger’s commentary on Archbishop Cordileone denying Speaker Pelosi Holy Communion. “No Jesus for Nancy,” she writes, even though Cordileone’s documented personal conduct has endangered living, breathing people. Printed above her column was a story about Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert seeking the brutal execution of a living human being in a murder case. Why are right-wing folks like Cordileone and Schubert crusading in seemingly opposite moral directions? Blindly following sanctimonious religious and political leaders, like Cordileone and Schubert, leads to barbarous and merciless public policies.

John Adkisson

Sacramento

Conflict of interest

“Placer CEO Todd Leopold put on paid administrative leave, 2 months after crash killed teen,” (sacbee.com, May 27)

It took the police months to identify the driver to grieving relatives of Anthony Williams. If the roles had been reversed, the Black teen would have been named and taken into custody the same night. Instead, we find a lack of transparency and special treatment for the county’s CEO. Meanwhile, influence over multiple Placer agencies is concerning. A former acting district attorney is suing Placer County for whistleblower retaliation that he alleges CEO Todd Leopold administered when he locked the interim DA out of his office. If Leopold holds such power over the DA’s office, essentially acting as their boss, how can they fairly investigate him? Either the conflict of interest should be disclosed to the public or the investigation should be moved out of Placer.

Victor Bekhet

Roseville

Who’s next?

“Sacramento clears homeless from proposed tiny home site,” (sacbee.com, May 27)

Once again, the city has used a questionable legal maneuver to lease city-owned property to private property owners. The site is then cleared and fenced. In this case, people staying on the site were hoping to move into one of the tiny homes proposed by the city. Instead, they were forced to move on, watching their belongings loaded up, destined for the dump. How many times can this happen before the city is questioned? Who does the city serve? Private property owners or the rest of us? With escalating rents, many ordinary people are becoming housing insecure. With the city’s apparent neglect of its most vulnerable becoming apparent, what reassurance do the rest of us have? Will we be next?

Susan Kenney

Carmichael

No stigma

“Spanish LGBTQ groups wary of monkeypox stigma as Pride nears,” (sacbee.com, May 28)

Sacramento has seen its first case of monkeypox, and gay men fear blame. This is an understandable reaction from a group that continues to be marginalized and pathologized across the globe. Nearly 70 countries still criminalize homosexuality, and the public health response to monkeypox must acknowledge this reality.

An effective response to recent outbreaks must include raising awareness about monkeypox, providing information about its symptoms and offering clear guidance for healthcare engagement. In the weeks and months that follow, partnerships between researchers, public health and community-based organizations will be crucial to effectively combat this disease.

Ian Holloway

UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs