20 THE COURIER SUN • SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com editorial sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH GRAZIELLA ZERILLI STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JENNIFER DECIO, CHERYL GALLAGHER CRISTABELLE TUMOLA, ANGY ALTAMIRANO, KATRINA MEDOFF ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA, ALINA SURIEL CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI CRISTABELLE TUMOLA DEMETRA PLAGAKIS WARREN SUSSMAN CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS PUBLISHER & EDITOR CO-PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ARTISTS STAFF REPORTERS CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS WEB EDITOR EVENTS MANAGER SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE CLASSIFIED MANAGER CONTROLLER PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 Sales Fax: 718-631-3498 www.couriersun.com editorial e-mail: editorial@queenscourier.com for advertising e-mail: ads@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2015 by The Courier Sun All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold THE COURIER SUN and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. street talk BY ALEXIS CORBIN What do you think of a New York lawmaker’s bill to ban the sale of large sugary drinks to minors statewide? SNAPS QUEENS Sunset view of the Grand Central Parkway Photo by Tamanna Farhad Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us via our Instagram @queenscourier, Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@queenscourier.com (subject: Queens Snaps). “The bill is so stupid! Kids should be allowed to buy soda and drink it.” Alex Wu “It is up to parents to monitor what their children eat, not the state. This bill should not be passed.” Debby M. “I think they should go through with the bill because soda is unhealthy and has a lot of sugar.” Nikhil Dhamelyia “I think sodas are okay to have. Kids should be allowed to drink them without having parental supervision.” San Shaheen “Stores shouldn’t be allowed to sell liters of soda in general because it is so unhealthy and causes obesity.” Christina Disiena I think this act is very responsible because it can really prevent child obesity. This bill can potentially save lives.” Neeva Shafi ian “I agree with the bill because soda is unhealthy for everyone, not just minors.” Olivia Salzman “That is ridiculous. The government can’t regulate what people drink and eat.” Simon Seo Courage needed for gun control America was shaken again by yet another dastardly act of gun violence last week. This time it was the live execution of a television reporter and cameraman during a morning news program in Roanoke, Virginia. What followed was the usual chorus of outrage from politicians and people across the country demanding that the federal government fi nally do something about gun violence in the U.S., where an average of 31 people are fatally shot every day. This chorus of outrage and calls for action, sounded after numerous mass murders in the U.S., has been followed by Congressional inaction, then silence until the next shocking homicide occurs. Barbara Parker, mother of the executed television reporter Alison Parker, made a rather startling statement in a Daily News interview published this weekend. “We are a nation who has politicians who are cowards,” Barbara Parker was quoted as saying. “What kind of a society are we? What does it take? After Sandy Hook, elementary school children were killed. And nobody does anything. What does it say about us?” After the Sandy Hook massacre, this disgraced nation demanded that the federal government bring about some form of gun control, such as increased background checks. But the NRA and other powerful lobbyists manipulated the system until enough lawmakers stood against even the most watered-down gun control bill before Congress. This was all due to, as Barbara Parker bluntly pointed out, a lack of courage by the people who claim to represent us. New York City’s Democratic Congressional delegation and its two senators have long called for gun control legislation. We urge our readers to remind them to continue the fi ght rather than resign themselves to defeat and move on. Our lawmakers must also step up the pressure on their colleagues from the other party, or from out of state, to muster up the courage to stand up to the lobbyists and pass real gun control legislation, even if it means certain defeat in the next election. Politicians shouldn’t be in offi ce to be re-elected; they should be in offi ce to serve the people of their districts. The nation is awash in blood from out-of-control gun violence. We can’t stop gun violence completely, but we can reduce it tremendously and save lives with appropriate gun regulations. It’s time for elected offi cials across the U.S. to decide whose side they’re really on: the people, or the lobbyists who enable the murderers. CELEBRATING LABOR DAY The 40-hour work week. The elimination of child labor. Workplace safety standards. Sick pay, maternity leave and overtime compensation. These are just some of the many accomplishments that labor unions helped secure for the American workforce over the last century. Though unions are a popular political target and have faced problems of their own, no one should forget that the unions of America, through their many accomplishments, have made lives better for millions of people. Let us pause this Labor Day to thank them for their sacrifices and strength and being the embodiment of the American motto e pluribus unum — Out of many, we are one.
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