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GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS I just knew I had to write an opinion on "open carry" laws when I learned a couple of weeks ago about the tug of war going on between 44,000 good citizens and America's Secret Service. Theconflictiswhetherthose citizens, who have signed a pe- tition, should be allowed to carry a gun on the floor of the Republican Con- vention to be held in July in Cleveland, Ohio. The Secret Service will not allow it. Robert Hoback, spokes- man for the service has already stated that "individuals de- termined to be carrying fire- arms will not be allowed past a predetermined outer perim- eter checkpoint at this conven- tion, regardless of whether they possess a ticket to the event or not." Thank goodness for the voice of sanity. Hoback may have saved Cleveland from a good deal of violence, if one or more "gun nuts" were to loose control of themselves in the heat this year's political bat- tle which has already gone over the top. I was happy when I learned that the Secret Service is actu- ally already authorized to "ban firearms from entering sites vis- ited by any candidates they are protecting." That also includes venues located in open-carry states, such as Ohio. By the way, the Quicken Loans Arena, where the Repub- licans will be holding this years convention in Cleveland, al- ready has a policy of banning handguns, firearms and any other weapon. Supporters and signers of the petition argue that this ban is an infringement upon their Sec- ond Amendment rights. That's very familiar refrain. I don't think it is a good ar- gument here, especially in view of the altercations and distur- bances that have already oc- curred in the events of Donald Trump. The Donald told ABC news he had not seen the peti- tion yet and wanted to exam- ine it first before taking a posi- tion. And, that is Trump's famil- iar refrain in his bizarre run for President. Before I go further, I want ev- eryone to know I once had a concealed weapon permit in the late 1970s while in elective of- fice, yet I don't want you to con- sider me a gun nut. I gained my permit from former Shasta County Sheriff John Balma. I le- gally carried a concealed gun for about a year, before I de- cided it was just too much bother. I told myself I was carrying it for security. I once said on the floor of the California Assembly; "Everyone in this great country does not need to have access to a bazooka." I said that sarcasti- cally, because at that very time as I was voting in favor of crim- inal background checks before any individual is able to pur- chase a firearm in California. I am happy to report that check is still law. I certainly see no good reason to throw fuel on the fire in good, old Cleveland. I understand that everyone seems to be trying to reshape America to meet their desires, but please give me a break on this one. This is no time to lock and load. I would really enjoy hearing what you think. Mytakeonthemovies This week's movie review could not be more appropriate than Actress Helen Mirran's lat- est release, "Eye in The Sky." This film will hold your at- tention. It also gives you a scary view of how earth operates to- day, especially if you think cute, little kids should be protected. I will supply no additional hints than that. Please go see this film. You will talk about this movie after you leave the theater. StanStathamserved1976-1994 in the California Assembly and was a television news anchor at KHSL-TV in Chico 1965- 1975. He is past president of the California Broadcasters Association and can be reached at StanStatham@gmail.com. Stan Statham My take on open carry laws The Donald told ABC news he had not seen the petition yet and wanted to examine it first before taking a position. And, that is Trump's familiar refrain in his bizarre run for President. Cartoonist's take It's no secret I detest Donald Trump. The thing that repels me most is the arrogance and belli- cosity he inspires in his follow- ers. It's hardly unprecedented, but this year is particularly vi- cious, distasteful and garbage- strewn, given the added narcis- sism fueled by social media. That said, not everything bad can be laid at The Donald's Fer- ragamo-clad feet. Some events have been blown out of propor- tion precisely because the GOP front-runner has created such a toxic environment that people jump at the opportunity to paint him and his campaign in the worst light. Corey Lewandowski, Trump's campaign director, was charged this week with misdemeanor bat- tery in Florida after he alleg- edly manhandled a reporter at a Trump news conference. Mi- chelle Fields, formerly with the Breitbart organization, claimed to have been grabbed by the arm and pushed away from the can- didate when she tried to ask him a question. Later that day, she tweeted photos of a bruise on her arm. Initially, Lewandowski denied knowing Fields, much less as- saulting her. The Trump cam- paign called her a liar. Then, video was released (by the Trump campaign) that clearly showed Lewandowski grabbing Fields and pushing her back. She didn't fall, but that was only be- cause of her great reflexes, not any chivalry from Trump Inc. Now, Lewandowski has law- yered up, and Trump is defend- ing his guy. Because, you know, Trump is loyal. He also refused to apologize, which is straight from the bully playbook. Even though I'm disgusted with Trump's brand of politick- ing, what is beginning to really anger me is the attempt to frame what happened to Fields as vio- lence against women instead of a regular, albeit unacceptable, po- litical street brawl. Almost immediately after Fields tweeted her bruise, com- mentators started to conflate Trump's established misogyny (a full-throated, old-fashioned, anti- metrosexual strain) with abuse. Conservative female commenta- tors, not the kind you'd expect to be whiners, came out with a manifesto demanding that Trump fire Lewandowski. Now, I'm no fan of Trump's macho swagger, but I also don't like the reflexive "woe is me for being a woman" in evidence whenever a woman is not treated like a Faberge egg. Let me be very clear: I con- demn any use of violence against innocent victims, be they women, children or men. I also am acutely aware of the scourge of domestic violence both in the United States and in the world, having experienced it personally, as well as in my immigration practice. I defend abused women against deportation. I am close to women who have been abused. I know, intimately, about broken bones and bruises. But it's wrong to conflate what happened to Fields, something that has happened to me when trying to squeeze on a train at rush hour, with actual abuse. It politicizes a very serious subject, and trivializes it for greater en- tertainment value when it should be treated gingerly and with re- spect. The minute I saw the tweeted bruise and the fact that the al- leged victim was a woman, I knew this would last throughout several news cycles. I mean, if making gross attacks on Megyn Kelly's propensity to bleed be- came a weeklong headline, it was inevitable that a case of actual, physical contact between a male Trump supporter and a woman would be a cause celebre. And while Trump deserves all the criticism in the world for his buf- foonery, boorishness and arro- gance, it doesn't mean he should be painted as some political Blue- beard. It's lazy opportunism, and harms a worthy cause. It's the same thing that's hap- pened with this ridiculous cru- sade against "date rape" and the so-called rape culture on cam- puses. To equate a bad date and mixed signals with the real vio- lence of rape leads to cases such as that at the University of Vir- ginia, and other false accusa- tions. It's wrong, dangerous, and dishonors real victims. That's why I'm angry about this attempt to frame what hap- pened to Fields as "abuse." She was pushed, she was pulled, she probably, under the law, was "as- saulted." But she should not be an example of domestic violence, or proof positive that the Trump campaign supports beating up on women. Trump is a lot of things, but he's not Stanley Kowalski. This just doesn't pass the smell test. And that's saying a lot, for such a foul-smelling campaign. Christine Flowers is an attorney and a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, and can be reached at cflowers1961@ gmail.com. Christine Flowers Trump's aide was wrong, but it's not abuse Another view It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I've been living it down since I was nine or 10 years old. I have adopted my share of stray dogs and cats and I brake for squirrels and turtles, but I'm still embarrassed that my younger self would mix sugar and glue on the front steps and watch for ants to chow down. I bring this embarrassing in- cident up because the Ameri- can Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) celebrates its 150th birthday April 10. This non-profit organiza- tion has been a pioneer in es- tablishing animal hospitals, using anesthesia, operating a 24-hour animal poison control line, offering grief counseling, promoting spay-and-neu- ter programs, creating rescue plans for animals during nat- ural disasters, ending unnec- essary euthanasia, offering pet health insurance and more. (Truth be told, there have been a few misfires along the way. Horses that had bravely survived the horrors of the Civil War sort of freaked out when crammed into hospital gowns.) Get ready for a wild time as the ASPCA celebrates its ses- quicentennial. I hear they're temporarily changing their motto from "We are their voice" to "We are their voice on helium." You might know that the ASPCA has 1.2 million mem- bers, but I'll bet you don't fully grasp its political clout. Pres. Obama's whole "cash for clun- kers" thing was less about weathering the recession than about providing a higher class of vehicles for birds to "deco- rate." The ASPCA has religious as- pirations as well. I've heard that they've approached the Vatican about designating a special corner of hell for those who neglect their pets. ("And the windows should be rolled up. And the water dish empty! And have 'em wear some em- barrassing little Halloween/ Christmas outfits made of as- bestos.") The ASPCA lobbies for many common sense measures in- volving the health and safety of animals. We are fortunate to have such a mainstream or- ganization still with us. Some other animal rights activ- ists get carried away. Here are some of those extremists' goals: - Ban hurtful phrases such as "Kill two birds with one stone," "blind as a bat" and "tickling the ivories." - Replace the Statue of Liberty's torch with a laser pointer. - "Killer whales" are given the more genteel designation "involuntary manslaughter whales." - Prevail upon Hollywood to ditch species-ism and produce "50 Shades of Chameleon." - Change the 3-second rule so food dropped on the floor immediately goes to the off- shore accounts of household pets. - Forget exposing labora- tory mice to tuberculosis or ra- diation. Test their reactions to winning the Powerball lottery. - Let hamsters keep the pro- ceeds from generating electric- ity with their little wheels and selling the excess to the power grid. - Infinite number of mon- keys at infinite number of typewriters get infinite amount of paid family leave. - Fine anyone who tells Don- ald Trump, "Speak. Speak." - Goldfish get to leave in- structions on which gender toi- let to be flushed down. Let's all do our part to re- spect God's creatures. The ef- forts of the ASPCA have an im- pact on more than animal wel- fare, since there are so many sociopaths out there to iden- tify. People who willfully mis- treat animals and get away with it won't hesitate to abuse spouses, children or the el- derly. ("Well, excuse me. Hey, you can't teach an old dog new tricks — unless you use a gre- nade launcher. Heh heh. No, wait — don't tase me, bro.") Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Animal lovers — the ASPCA turns 150 Stan Statham OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, April 7, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6