TO THE EDITOR:

What in the world is wrong with our police officers ("Police concerned over civilian pepper guns," Sept. 10)? I have been firing handguns and long guns since I was around 10 years old and am now 70. I have yet to see a handgun that looks like the pepper ball gun, and so what if it does? I think it looks more like a paint ball gun.

I don't believe officers will be shot with a pepper ball gun because the bad guys will still continue to carry the real thing. The police officer stated that a burglar with a real firearm might shoot a homeowner brandishing a pepper ball gun. This sounds like an even better reason to have a real weapon close at hand. Is this reluctance to have armed, law-abiding citizens the result of a good ole boy macho network?

Surely our street officers have figured out by now that it's the bad guys, the ones who do not respect any law that are a threat to them and not the law-abiding citizens.

Gerald Wheeler, Mount Washington

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Cost of I-75 fix out-of-touch, arrogant

The Ohio Department of Transportation's $1.6 billion estimate for widening I-75 is out-of-touch and arrogant. Readers are encouraged to read The Columbus Dispatch's exclusive on highway funding mismanagement. Fix the bridges first while encouraging businesses to support car-pooling.

Brad D. Berman, Deerfield Township

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File sharing is just another form of theft

This letter is in regards to the editorial ("Song-sharing/Record industry sues/Heavy-handed strategy," Sept. 10). Have the Generation Y staffers and college interns who dominate the Tempo section of the Enquirer taken over? File sharing copyrighted material is stealing. By being a party to such larcenous behavior the file sharer becomes a conduit for further distribution of said stolen property as their computer files are available for anyone to share. This casual attitude toward other's property has been evident in several articles in the Tempo section ("Music 'thieves' upload options," July 16). Seeing a newspaper, which is an intellectual property vendor, itself condone such larceny and ridiculing an industry's attempt to defend itself on the editorial page is offensive.

Should The Cincinnati Enquirer produce journalism worth stealing, would you not defend your rights to the property you own? I know your parent company Gannett newspapers takes their copyrights seriously.

If the issue is the cost of music, don't purchase what you feel is too expensive. Because I think Mercedes automobiles are overpriced does not give me the right to steal one!

The cost of music adjusted for inflation is a fine value and is cheaper than other forms of entertainment. Again, if it is too expensive don't buy it. Steal it and be liable for the consequences.

If opinion vehicles such as yours would stand up for and reinforce moral stances for our young people instead of coddling their larceny, perhaps our culture would improve. Taking what you haven't paid for is stealing.

Thomas O'Flynn, Walton, Ky.

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Cleveland offers lesson in easing traffic snarls

This is in regards to the letter ("Don't widen I-75, build new parallel interstate," Sept. 11) concerning the I-75 problems. I couldn't help thinking that, perhaps, Cincinnati should look north to Cleveland.

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving from Cincinnati to Geneva in northeastern Ohio. After looking at the road map before going, I concluded that the trip from I-71 around Cleveland via I-271 to I-90 was going to be a real pain, since it looked like there would be just one interchange after another. To my great surprise and relief, I found that I-271 in this area consisted of two parts - one for express traffic with no interchanges and the other for local traffic It would seem to me to make a great deal of sense to consider a two-interstate system through Cincinnati. I currently avoid, whenever possible, both I-75 and I-275 because of the frenetic behavior of many of the truckers and irresponsible drivers. I invariably get where I'm going on time with a better frame of mind.

Harry Ritz, Springfield Township

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Ohio officials ignore rulings by court

The editorial about dissension within the 6th District Court of Appeals ("Courting trouble/6th Circuit rancor," Sept. 4) is right on target. I couldn't help but wonder why the Enquirer's position isn't similar with each branch of our government, judicial, legislative and administrative?When these other branches of government chose to ignore the Ohio Supreme Court's four rulings that the school funding system in Ohio is unconstitutional, there wasn't a similar admonishment for Ohio's governor, the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate to follow that ruling and correct the unconstitutional funding system.

This continual ignoring of the state's highest court has a significant negative impact on confidence in those branches of government. Doesn't the same principle apply to all? No one is above the law and the Constitution. Justice must be served and that includes fixing the unconstitutional funding system that funds Ohio schools. Allowing this situation to continue diminishes us all.

Stanley A. Wernz, Wyoming