In your recent editorial titled “Getting tough on trespassers” you advocated what appeared a new stance by the Tribune-Star calling for actual punishment (consequence) for people who violate the law, in this case trespass on a railroad trestle that has been calling out to teenagers for many years (since before I was a teen). Congratulations on your not-too-late enlightenment. Real, significant consequence may actually work to keep people off that bridge and keep them safe from themselves.
I think, though, that you should campaign for recent community problems to be resolved the same way. Instead of supporting the sheriff’s lame attempt to make us all criminals for purchasing medicine for ourselves and our families you should call for severe punishment of those caught with meth, punishment so egregious that some might think better and others would serve as an example of what lies in wait for meth users/sellers.
Instead of forcing people who have been purchasing alcohol legally for more than 30 years to show their IDs to buy beer, you should be calling for real punishment for those underage people in illegal possession of alcohol because the current slap on the wrist by our legal system isn’t sufficient to make anyone not try to get alcohol, and it never was.
You and I are smart enough to know that teens are still able to get whatever alcohol they want, they always have and they always will. The only way to deter this is punishment or consequence severe enough to make them or those who supply alcohol to them fearful of getting caught, not by making me show ID to buy a six pack.
Get the picture, Tribune Star? Don’t use your editorial assets (as you’ve done in the past) to advocate punishing, or perhaps inconveniencing people who are doing what they’re legally able to do. Don’t ask to restrict groups of adults acting in a legal manner, in order to change the behavior of someone who can’t, or won’t distinguish right from wrong. Use your expertise to get laws on the books sturdy enough to punish even first-time offenders so that those of us old enough to purchase alcohol can do so without proving that my wrinkles are there because of age, or that I’m sick enough to need that medicine with ephedrine without worrying that I may be over my limit to keep myself healthy when I’m unable to contact my doctor to get a prescription.
Be consistent. If consequence works for trespassers, then it should work for others, too. I’m tired of the asinine restrictions (which incidentally you seem to back in your editorial and reporting) that I have to comply with when I’ve done nothing wrong in order to make it harder for those who will violate the law anyway to violate those laws. You can help but you have to advocate the same way each time.
I wonder what your editorial would have read if someone suggested fencing off the far northeast side to keep everyone out in order to keep everyone off the bridge as the solution to trespassers, an idea as inane as forcing a grandpa to show ID in order to buy a beer. Sadly, you’d have probably agreed.
— Jim Kmetz
Terre Haute
Flashpoint
FLASHPOINT: Stay consistent on ‘consequences’
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FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
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FLASHPOINT: Lessons from the legacy media — get it right, first
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FLASHPOINT: Hoosiers got steady hand in recent session
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FLASHPOINT: Time has arrived for overhaul of TV news
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FLASHPOINT: Fiscal cliff, Obamacare have already raised taxes enough
Our history is rich with stories of people who have immigrated to the United States for a chance at the American Dream. The American Dream, in its truest form, is the opportunity to achieve success by working hard and playing by the rules; to make it on your own and to say, “I earned this.”
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FLASHPOINT: Expanding Medicaid coverage makes sense for Indiana
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FLASHPOINT: Improve public education, stop experimenting with it
In January, the four of us who serve as the Democrats on the House Education Committee outlined our hopes for the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly, particularly in joining with Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz to offer common sense solutions to improve the quality of education for our children. With the halfway point of this session past us, we remain optimistic that positive steps can be taken … but that optimism is tempered by the reality that education policies are being directed by a legislative majority that has a radically different agenda.
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Healthcare law anniversary no reason for celebration
March 23 marked three years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law, yet this is not an anniversary that deserves celebration.
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FLASHPOINT: Defending state’s authority is attorney general’s obligation
The law of the land recognizes the authority of states to license marriage.
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FLASHPOINT: Stability key for state’s future
Hoosiers have the unique luxury of being the fiscal envy of the nation due to the sound fiscal policies of the last eight years.
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FLASHPOINT: House budget offers Medicaid solution for Indiana
This week, my U.S. House Budget Committee colleagues and I introduced a federal budget resolution for fiscal year 2014. Our budget is a responsible plan that stops spending money and balances in 10 years — largely through making key reforms to drivers of our debt like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
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FLASHPOINT: Problem gambling in Indiana: A new understanding of community concern
The week of March 3 was designated as National Problem Gambling Awareness Week.
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FLASHPOINT: Eastern time in Indiana defies common sense
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Praying for civil resolution to debate over gun control
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FLASHPOINT: It’s not too late to expand health services
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FLASHPOINT: You can’t go back again — and that’s OK
Our progressive colleagues have been telling us for years that the 1950s were a horrid time.
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FLASHPOINT: The fierce urgency of now — nation needs to protect youth
The alcohol-fueled alleged serial rape of a 16-year-old Ohio girl by two of her similarly impaired classmates — not to mention the drunken videotaped commentary of others — points yet again to the imperative that adult America renews its commitment to address as a true national community those issues that most threaten the health, safety and forward development of youth.
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FLASHPOINT: A pastor speaks out against Sullivan’s ‘traditional prom’
I am a pastor in Sullivan, Ind., and I am outraged.
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FLASHPOINT: 0wning firearms is a First Amendment exercise, too
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FLASHPOINT: Maintaining the priority
Recently a newspaper article has been written about a change in the by-laws of the Indiana High School Athletic Association which speaks directly to attempted undue influence exerted upon students below the level of grade nine and their parents.
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FLASHPOINT: The fairness of marriage
What is the current Indiana law concerning marriage? Our state defines marriage in a singular way — between a man and a woman.
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FLASHPOINT: We ask state legislators to abide by their oath of office
All of us relish giving unsolicited advice to our elected representatives.
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FLASHPOINT: Mentoring is having major impact on public education
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FLASHPOINT: Common Core standards should be common sense
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FLASHPOINT: Milestone year for Rose-Hulman
The Rose-Hulman campus traditionally quiets down this time of year, yet for me I sense a renewed energy from the phenomenal year just closing.
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FLASHPOINT: ISU’s reasoning flawed in flight school planning
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FLASHPOINT: Incessant attacks on Christianity by the ACLU
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FLASHPOINT: Americans deserve more value for their tax dollars
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