Your Words

¶ The Second Amendment is legal gibberish

Last week, columnist Jeffrey C. Billman opined on the tortured elasticity of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, and the tragic results for our nation daily. “Nothing will change,” concluded Billman despondently.

I live here in Orlando. Your article on the 2nd Amendment was excellent! My cousin is an avid black power weapon owner and when I asked him the question about the intent of the 2nd Amendment he totally agreed with both of us. It was written in a time and before the need to kill numerous people in short order. It was written in a time when you actually had to take time to load a musket, not switch multiple rounds and magazines.

Bravo, sir! Keep writing!

— James Ingram

¶ Remembering Christina Grimmie

Our last issue featured a piece reflecting on the murder of pop singer Christina Grimmie at Orlando’s Plaza Live six years ago. It was one of Orlando’s most tragic and shocking crimes ... for about 26 hours, until the massacre at the Pulse Nightclub that very same weekend. “She deserved better from this life, as do we all,” concluded writer Shelton Hull.

I was at her concert the night she was murdered because I knew the boys in the band she opened for. The tragedy of her death radiated beyond that madman’s intention and traumatized those boys, their families and all her young fans. I appreciate that she is not forgotten.

Please continue putting names and stories like this out there. Eventually, I pray, humanity will be humane.

— Mari Lynch

¶ Ditch meat to keep Earth alive

To the editor: The future is so close we can taste it. The popularity of innovative, nutrient-packed vegan foods is exploding, and it’s only going to grow. According to a new research report by Future Market Insights, sales of plant-derived foods are projected to reach a value of $34.5 billion by 2032.

It’s good news that eating habits are shifting: We can’t eat dead food and keep the Earth alive. A vegan Beyond Burger generates 90% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a quarter pound of U.S. beef. And this rapidly evolving industry is saving animals. After miserable months on a crowded feedlot, cows raised for their flesh are shipped without food or water to a slaughterhouse, where their throats are slit—some while still conscious.

By eating meat, we condone killing animals, fuel the climate catastrophe, and poison our air and water. Let’s ditch meat.

— Rebecca Libauskas Climate Research Specialist, PETA Foundation

‘PRIME TIME’ BY CLAY JONES