SEX OFFENDED
When it comes to laws that involve sex offenders, the passions of the majority must be tempered with reason [Theo Douglas’ “Interview With a Rapist,” March 12]. Overborne by a mob mentality for justice, officials at every level of government are enacting laws that effectively exile convicted sex offenders from their midst with little contemplation as to the appropriateness or constitutionality of their actions. Politicians across the county have approved almost every measure that deals with sex offenders in order to appear strong on crime. Given that the sex offender lobby is neither large nor vocal, it is up to the courts to protect the interest of this disenfranchised group. That sex offenders are deserving of disdain is not the issue, for they surely are. The issue, rather, is whether they deserve the protection of the Constitution, which they surely do.
RAY
Via thedistrictweekly.com

I don’t understand why sex offenders are the only ones who have to register. So there are 10 to 15 sex offenders in one complex. How many gang members with violent felonies live in that same area? What about drug dealers? Murderers don’t have to register, nor do they have limitations on where they can live. They send gang members right back to the same gang-infested areas where they committed their crimes, yet I don’t see a public uproar over that.
EL DANDY
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BEACHY KEEN
I would love to see the [destruction of the breakwater]. I’m in my thirties and I don’t believe it will in my lifetime [Jennifer Stockdale’s “O, How Happy We Will Be,” March 12]. It would take senior people at the city, at the port and in Congress to all get behind this. Maybe we have a couple council members interested but not the right ones. It would require the Third District—currently Gary DeLong—to back it and he won’t because the Peninsula residents are terrified of losing their houses in a storm.
LB RESIDENT
Via thedistrictweekly.com

This could and will happen if everyone starts to believe in it and share in the vision. DeLong is a puppet. Sure, his constituents have cards to play, but the rest of Long Beach has many more cards to play. To Keith Higginbotham and The District, good work and keep up the pressure. To Long Beach residents, spread the word and fight the power!
ANDREAS
Via thedistrictweekly.com

Dreaming of the way it used to be—rolling surf, clean water, yeah. WAKE UP PEOPLE, IT IS NOT A DREAM! YOU’RE HAVING A NIGHTMARE! What else is missing from those 75-year-old pictures of our beautiful surfy beaches? Open land and a HALF MILLION PEOPLE. This is not 1920. Where will these beachgoers park? Where will the extra police come from? Check out the problems with fighting that happen in Huntington Beach every summer, and they don’t have a Blue Line making a straight shot from the hood to the shoreline. Look around at the gangs and graffiti at our existing parks. I don’t know if “Gidget” or “Moon Doggy” will use the beach but “Lil Killer” and “Mad Dog” will. If you want to surf, go five minutes down PCH to Seal Beach. Now go back to sleep.
BILL
Via thedistrictweekly.com

I COULDA HAD A VA
More vets would go to the VA if the hospital staff would at least pretend like they give a damn [“Soldier’s Stories,” March 5]. I’ve been to VA facilities all over Southern California, and the one in Long Beach is the worst in terms of attitude. The audacity they show in the levels of disrespect for veterans is absolutely galling. I’m an Afghanistan vet with a 70 percent disability rating, and I would sooner die than let those clowns treat me ever again.
W3
Via thedistrictweekly.com