Why don’t we properly promote our great Jacksonville beaches?
Is it just me or do any of my fellow local citizens find it strange that Jacksonville’s beaches were excluded from the Times-Union’s “26 things every Jacksonville resident should do at least once” list?
Jacksonville’s beaches have been rated among the best in the nation time and again.
While many tourists pass them up for points south, many others have done their homework and recognize the intrinsic value that our community provides — not to mention that public beach access and parking areas are easier and cheaper to find here than in many of South Florida’s tourist traps.
I run a local movie production company, and for the best representation of Florida I prefer to travel no farther than our own unspoiled sand and surf.
Dave Stang, Ponte Vedra Beach
Proposal would weaken Florida’s progress in reducing youth smoking
Aside from saving the state billions in health-care costs, Tobacco Free Florida has significantly lowered the youth smoking rate by more than 70 percent.
It has also reduced adult smoking from 21 percent in 2006 to less than 16 percent in 2015.
Despite these gains, the Constitution Revision Commission aims to undercut Tobacco Free Florida with Proposal 94. The proposal seeks to remove language in the Florida Constitution protecting the ability of Tobacco Free Florida to counteract the mammoth marketing efforts of Big Tobacco.
Although Proposal 94 would undoubtedly benefit the tobacco industry, the biggest impact would be on Florida’s most impressionable residents:
Our kids.
By giving Big Tobacco unfettered access to target our kids without effective opposition, Proposal 94 will put more money into the pockets of Big Tobacco and put our children one step closer to the grave.
To make your opinion heard with the Constitution Revision Commission, visit https://tinyurl.com/y8flod33.
Prakash Patel, physician, chief operating officer, GuideWell, Jacksonville
If liberals want to reduce guns, they should prove it
After reading many letters from readers and seeing the reactions of Hollywood, retail stores, airlines and rental car companies opposing the National Rifle Association, I have concluded that we should give liberals a solution to their own dilemma:
Let’s ban guns from movies and video games.
All of these individuals and organizations claim to be horrified by guns, and they favor taking guns away from law-abiding Americans. But who has armed bodyguards?
These hypocrites also say they want to keep guns away from children.
Yet they have no problems with people being shot in PG-13 rated movies and in video games that have no age restrictions.
So if they want a war on guns, let’s see some action from the state legislatures and Congress.
These lawmakers should work to break the link between violence, movies and video games by voting to ban guns from being used in movies and video games.
Most Hollywood actors are liberals, and they are very vocal in demanding strict gun control.
But they and other liberals should be careful of what they wish for — their bank accounts may shrink!
Betty Dobson, Brooksville
Protesting youths follow lead of left-wing role models
On Saturday, the teenagers who are protesting the National Rifle Association and the school shootings will be holding rallies nationwide.
I suggest that they be asked how we should handle North Korea and the nuclear weapons issue.
At that time, they will refer that question to their left-wing Democratic Party role models.
And they will continue to choose to be led, rather than be willing to lead themselves.
Roger Cable, Jacksonville