High-caliber advice
I am delighted to learn that Rep. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City, is sponsoring a bill to allow concealed weapons on our college campuses. Thank you for fighting for the critical right of our young adults to pack heat in the classroom. This can be nothing but good. Really, what could possibly go wrong?
My only concern is I don't know what caliber weapon to purchase for my teen-agers as they prepare for higher education. Perhaps Rep. Schmidt can help with a little fashion advice here. My daughter is petite and very stylish. Should we get her a small-caliber weapon that she can easily slip into a handbag or down her cute boots, or do we go with something more utilitarian that will really get the job done? (Please, nothing that will make her butt look big!)
We certainly don't want her to be embarrassed by her firearms; after all, the social and educational pressures of college are already enough without the additional stressor of a weaponry faux pas!
Parents are very excited about Rep. Schmidt's crusade for their children. I am positive many of our institutions of higher learning will shower him with a much-deserved Honorary Doctorate of Egregious Stupidity.
Amy Kerr Hardin
Acme
Contain Asian carp
I want to echo the recent letter by Mary Lee Orr about the magnitude of a potential Asian carp crisis. Our lakefront association has been watching this closely the past couple of years and don't feel many politicians grasp the severity of the issue.
Asian carp grow to 80-plus pounds, leap out of the water endangering boaters and personal watercraft riders, and eat enough to disrupt the food chain. Congress must authorize money to prevent their entry into the Great Lakes, or fishing, boating and even swimming may never be the same.
No politician should get a pass on this!
Rick Tasch
Traverse City
The writer is president of the Bowers Harbor North Beach Association.
