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Readers write: keep guns in US military; water scarcity needs solutions

Letters to the editor for the Nov. 30, 2015 weekly magazine.

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M. Spencer Green/AP/File
Chicago police display some of the thousands of illegal firearms they have confiscated so far this year in their battle against gun violence in Chicago, July 7, 2014. The recent mass shooting at an Oregon community college has put the debate over gun violence and gun control into the center of the presidential race. At least some of the Republicans who are running have pointed to Chicago as proof that gun control laws don't work.

US guns belong in the military
Regarding the Nov. 9 Briefing, “Why the US protects private guns”: The National Rifle Association uses the misleading term “the right to bear arms,” setting the agenda for any discussion on having a comprehensive system of gun control. The Second Amendment to the Constitution reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

This means that the public as a collective (not as individuals) has the right and the duty to use weaponry to maintain and protect the sovereign government(s) established under the Constitution. The actions taken to secure the State are to be through properly organized military units arising from the citizenry at large.
John Cormode
Mountain View, Calif.

Water scarcity needs solutions
Regarding the Nov. 9 online article “World Bank: Global warming will drive 100 million people into poverty” (CSMonitor.com): The Nov. 8 report by the World Bank on the effect of climate change on the world’s poor is even more troubling in view of the projected gap between water supply and demand by 2030. There is a projected 40 percent gap between water supply and demand, assuming business-as-usual practices. This gap is driven by global trends such as increasing population and the rise of the middle class, coupled with increased demand for food and energy.

With almost 2 billion people currently without access to safe water, the World Bank report and the projected shortfall of water does not bode well for the world’s poor. The World Bank report closely follows the release of the Sustainable Development Goals to address a range of social and environmental challenges.  

What is needed is not only action on climate change but also an urgent campaign to deflect the scarcity trajectory in water, food, and energy through innovation and partnerships.
Will Sarni
Enterprise Water Strategy consulting leader, Deloitte Consulting
Denver

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Mark Sappenfield
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Dear Reader,

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