Opinion/Streetalk

ThiS ModeRN WoRld by tom tomorrow

Marijuana or gay marriage? Both? Neither?

Asked at Bibo Coffee Company on Mt. Rose Street

Marianne Taylor

Assistant manager Gay marriage. I’d like to see some more progression with it. I have a lot of gay friends, and if they want the right to marry who they love, then they should have that right.

Gregory Mitchell

Retail worker Neither, actually. I’m a born-again Christian, and I think changing the definition of marriage is completely against what I believe. I’m more up in the air with marijuana. I don’t smoke weed, but it’s just so out there. If you go to California, it’s so easy to get. I just hope it doesn’t trigger a chain reaction where they legalize a harder drug.

Life and how to live it

This is an editorial that usually comes around about Thanksgiving. It’s often associated with our Buy Local campaign that always heats up for Christmas shopping, but it’s an idea that is just as relevant when Earth Day rolls around. This time, we’ve got a slightly different spin on it: As often as you can, do your shopping at places you can walk to. Take Buy Local to a new level. As we’ve pointed out many times, the main problem with big box stores like Lowe’s is that they take their profits and send them outside the community. But another problem is that those huge warehouse stores create so much traffic that it is difficult to place them in neighborhoods where customers can walk or bike to them. Many people probably remember the various battles Renoites have had over the placement of K-Marts, Home Depots and Wal-Marts over the years. All right, so imagine a world where it isn’t always necessary to drive to pick up the odds and ends you need to get along in this world. Can you imagine walking to Lowe’s to pick up a brass replacement spigot for your garden? Probably not, but many of us can imagine walking to Carter Bros. Ace Hardware in Reno or Shelly’s True Value Hardware in Sparks. It’s because businesses that don’t require so much traffic just to survive are able to get along in neighborhoods closer to your home. The flip side of this is that most local businesses—the ones that support other local businesses and schools and parks—can’t afford to be in those high traffic areas like Kietzke Lane and McCarran Boulevard. Think about all those new little businesses in Midtown that everyone is having such a great time supporting. When you go there for cheese, or wine and painting, or used clothes, or a cup of coffee, you’re supporting that neighborhood. The more people are on foot, the safer a neighborhood is likely to be for everyone who lives there. But when you think about it, if you’re willing to eschew some selection, it’s probably possible to satisfy many of your needs without getting into your car. Many neighborhoods in this city have pockets of commerce that are within walking distance. This editorial is not designed to bag on the giant box stores—after all, our friends and neighbors are employed in those stores, too. This editorial is simply asking people to be more mindful of supporting the places right down the street. This idea is not only good for shoppers’ health, but it’s also good to help to reduce air and noise pollution and to slow down the speed of life, which benefits the entire community. Money that is spent in local neighborhood stores also comes back to our little league teams, our homegrown artists, our schools and our parks. When you participate in the social routines of your neighborhood, you’re also more aware of who’s treating who well in your neighborhood, and who’s treating who poorly. Don’t you want to support the people who are nice to the people who have treated you well for so many years? Conversely, why would you patronize someone who mistreated businesses in your neighborhood? Often, it’s this knowledge that informs where we shop, eat pizza, or drink our coffee, now and in the future. Ω Katie Garner

Student teacher Both. If a doctor says their condition can be helped with medical marijuana, then why not? Also, if people are concerned with the long- or short-term side effects of marijuana, there are so many other prescription drugs that can cause so many even worse side effects. And gay marriage, I think everyone should have the right to be with whoever they love.

Adam Carpenter

Casino worker and musician Both. Medical marijuana helps people a lot mentally and physically. Even if it’s not really curing anything, it gives people some peace of mind. I also think it’s just silly, since so many people use it, for the government to not try to make money off of it. I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to judge who has the right to get married.

Coral Paris

Nurse I’m totally for gay marriage, and I’m for medical marijuana, if it’s regulated properly. I just think that gay people should have the same inalienable rights as the rest of us. As for medical marijuana, I have seen cases where it’s very helpful for people with things like chronic pain, and it’s less damaging than other medications to their bodies.