LETTERS - Oct. 24

ISSUE | LOCAL GUN REGS

State firearms laws take precedence

Opponents of the gun-ban measure need to understand that it is already illegal for localities to pass gun regulations under the state's preemption rules ("Gun-law bill may have big impact," Oct. 22). Those haven't stopped Pennsylvania municipalities from doing just that, and they have been openly flouting the law for quite some time, with little consequence.

And it's not just about lost and stolen gun reporting requirements. Towns and cities have for years been passing ordinances regulating where in public you can carry your legally owned firearms, all in violation of state law.

It's sad when the threat of litigation is the only thing that ensures local governments themselves follow the law.

|Jon Campisi, Philadelphia

Will Corbett stand?

Members of the legislature who voted for a bill that will impose financial hardship on cities and other municipalities are cowards ("Gun-law bill may have big impact," Oct. 22). They passed a bill with an amendment as the last act in a session, and will run and hide until after the election. Gov. Corbett, on the other hand, should stand his ground and do what is right - with a veto.

|Vincent Gregory Naughton, Glenside

ISSUE | OUTDOORS

Airborne wonder

of Cape May festival

As the Cape May Autumn Birding Festival gets underway this weekend, it's important to focus on the whole point of the festival - the phenomenal fall bird migration in Cape May ("Birding festival set for this weekend," Oct. 22). The festival has been sponsored for 68 years by New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory, although registration, indoor lectures, programs, socials, and dinners take place at the Grand Hotel. Displays at the Convention Center are only part of the activities.

Throughout the weekend, bird walks and special tours will take place, led by world-class birders and naturalists, to show birders from all over the world the spectacle of fall migration at this famous migratory junction.

|Mary Jane Slugg, Cape May

ISSUE | ROGUE TRAFFIC

Funeral no reason to allow highway havoc

After the funeral Tuesday of Kyrell Tyler - a supposed legendary dirt biker who was killed last week in what police said was a drug-related shooting - his mourners were permitted to wreak havoc. Scores of dirt bikers and ATV riders illegally tore up and down busy city streets and highways the wrong way, doing wheelies and performing other dangerous feats, ran red lights, and ignored stop signs, endangering themselves and other drivers and pedestrians.

Police said these riders were coming from a funeral and that their acts were meant to pay their respects, and because it is not their practice to pursue ATVs for safety reasons, no action was taken against these riders. That safety-reasons argument only holds when you are talking about a few kids on a joy ride, not a couple hundred riders. Besides the fact that this guy was hardly an admirable public figure, I don't think I'm the only one who has a major problem with police allowing this madness to take place, for any reason.

|Patricia Sicilia, Philadelphia

ISSUE | WHITE HOUSE INTERN

World's most powerful man shared blame

I was disappointed that a letter concerning Monica Lewinsky's speech focused on her behavior ("Hands off her man," Oct. 23). Let's be clear: The "other person's husband" was Bill Clinton, who was twice Lewinsky's age, her boss, and president. His behavior was predatory and shameful. Lewinsky has demonstrated great grace and dignity in the face of overwhelming pressure. Her comments and views are welcome, and I hope she continues to speak out.

|Denise M. Shepherd, West Chester

ISSUE | E-MAIL CONTROVERSY

Purge of Justice McCaffery premature

I disagree with the rush to judgment in the McCaffery case. Although state Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery is plainly no Thurgood Marshall, it is not clear that he has broken any laws, and his behavior appears to be more juvenile than destructive in nature.

The selective release of embarrassing material by the state Attorney General's Office and his fellow justices, moreover, is a highly dubious tactic with dangerous implications for the rule of law in a free society.

If McCaffery has acted inappropriately, he should be formally charged and allowed to defend himself, rather than purged by his colleagues or the Editorial Board.

|Michael A. Livingston, professor, Rutgers Law School, Cheltenham, maliving@rutgers.edu

Piling on by fellow justice was unwarranted

If ever there was an intemperate, inappropriate, self-serving, prejudicial prejudgment in connection with a sensitive pending proceeding, I have never in my 39 years as an attorney in two states (15 spent serving as a local judge) seen another one that compares to Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille's concurring opinion in the temporary suspension of Seamus McCaffery ("Rough justice," Oct. 21).

|Steven J. Messinger, chief assistant district attorney, Paulding County Judicial Circuit, Atlanta