And at the pinnacle of danger is Iran, pursuing nuclear arms. We have seen what the homicidally disposed mentally ill can do with conventional firearms. The potential for destruction by a deranged sociopath with nuclear weapons is beyond imagination.
John R. Cohn, Philadelphia
Guns taken in invasion
I read with much interest the tragic story about the home invasion that ended with the fatal shooting of the male resident of the house ("2 sought in Bucks invasion-slaying," Saturday). Fortunately, his girlfriend and her 12-year-old son were not injured.
The story noted that several guns were stolen from the residence. Not only are those stolen guns in the hands of criminals, but it appears that owning a multitude of firearms did not protect the resident from being killed by the invaders.
Not only is gun ownership not a deterrent to crime, but it puts more guns out on the street illegally.
Lynn Meyer Brown, Philadelphia
Antiunion rhetoric
It was with great disappointment that I read "Fresh fears of violence at nonunion building sites" (Jan. 13). This was the third article your paper published since Dec. 30 referencing the singular incident at a construction site in Chestnut Hill despite no new developments or facts. Your article, its allegations, and its conclusions are nothing more than pure speculation. Were there any evidence of wrongdoing by any union or union member, an arrest and lawsuit would have already occurred. You quote Robert Reeves, the nonunion contractor, but acknowledge that he lacks even a scintilla of evidence that any union member was involved. The police confirmed with you that it had no evidence of union involvement.
Certain business and political interests have commenced a national attack on the union movement and, accordingly, the working middle class. Having been successful in the Citizens United case in obtaining for business the right to contribute directly to political campaigns and control the electoral process, it only remains for these forces to destroy the labor movement, which is the only counterbalance in this process. This is clearly evidenced in the Wisconsin and Michigan right-to-work legislation, as well as this effort to discredit the building trades unions here and elsewhere.
Who has anything to gain by these acts? Not the unions. The winners are the nonunion workers, contractors, and contractor associations that benefit by your antiunion rhetoric.
Brian Grady, counsel to the Building Trades Council, AFL-CIO, Philadelphia
