Lydia Lavelle wrote a column about why she was against the proposed amendment to protect traditional marriage (CHN, Feb. 29). I am writing in response to say I stand and support the North Carolina Catholic bishop's 100 percent.

God entrusted the sacred act between a husband and wife, within the confines of marriage, for the procreation of children. It boggles the mind how our society has betrayed that trust.

Because society has rejected Humanae Vitae, we are now experiencing the many tragic consequences of that rejection. The Roman Catholic Church does not have the power or authority to change God's commandments or natural law. It is not loving, just, or merciful to say otherwise. It is out of authentic love, that the Catholic Church must defend traditional marriage, as God intended.

Thank you, Bishop Burbidge and Bishop Jugis for having the courage to stand up for the Truth. I will vote FOR the amendment on May 8.

Eileen Yuengling

Durham

Self defense laughable

Gun deaths and auto deaths cannot be compared on a pure numbers basis. Auto deaths are for all intensive purposes accidental. Gun deaths are about 4 percent accidental. The rest are either suicide or homicide with a very small amount considered undetermined. The bottom line is this, about 96 percent are intentional.

Cars and guns are inert until put into use: driving for cars, being handled in the case of guns. Guns are not dangerous when being handled unless they are ready to fire. A round must be chambered, the hammer back, the safety off, and then being handled by someone. If Americans handled ready-to-fire guns as many hours as they spend driving their cars I would bet that accidental gun deaths and injuries would far exceed those of accidental auto deaths and injuries.

Handguns in particular serve no useful purpose in our society unless in the hands of law enforcement officers. The self defense argument is so weak it is laughable. Think about it. The element of surprise is about 100 percent effective in close armed conflict. No thug is ever going to offer a fast draw contest for your possessions or your life. The way to go is much, much better laws regarding firearms.

LaMotte Akin

Chapel Hill

Leave our rock alone please

As residents of Pennsylvania and North Dakota have learned to their cost, fracking destroys communities.

Seduced by the prospect of jobs that failed to materialize and wealth that remained in corporate coffers, ordinary Americans have been left to pick up the pieces after their environment and infrastructure are decimated by outsiders intent only on profit. Faced with pressures to allow fracking in North Carolina, we must learn from others' misfortunes and avoid making the same mistakes.

Imagine your neighborhood being turned into a rat run for giant tankers transporting fresh water to be mixed with a chemical cocktail and injected into rock seams beneath your feet to force out natural gas. Imagine having to rely on those same rock formations for your drinking water and seeing them polluted by an industrial process so suspect that the Bush administration allowed the drilling industry to keep its details secret. Fracking consumes vast quantities of fresh water - a precious commodity in a state prone to drought - and transforms it into waste so harmful it requires special storage.

We can do without a process that turns the kitchen faucet into a gas tap, and makes showering so risky that the bathroom window has to be left open. North Carolina must reject this blinkered fixation with outdated fossil fuels and risky technologies. Our state is blessed with great natural riches - the sun and wind - which can provide plentiful clean energy. That is the way to safeguard our children's future and grow a strong, sustainable economy.

Neil McWilliam

Chapel Hill

What would Jesus eat?

Feb. 22 marked the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period preceding Easter when Christians would abstain from meat and dairy products in remembrance of Jesus' 40 days of reflection before launching his ministry.

Devout Christians who still observe meatless Lent help reduce chronic diseases, environmental degradation, and animal abuse. In the past four decades, dozens of medical reports have linked consumption of animal products with elevated risk of heart failure, stroke, cancer, and other killer diseases. A 2007 U.N. report named meat production as the largest source of greenhouse gases and water pollution. Undercover investigations have documented animals being raised for food under abject conditions of caging, crowding, deprivation, drugging, mutilation, and manhandling.

Lent offers a superb opportunity to honor Jesus' powerful message of compassion and love for all living beings. To stop subsidizing disease, devastation, and cruelty. To choose a wholesome nonviolent diet of vegetables, fruits, and grains and a vast array of meat and dairy alternatives. It's a diet mandated in Genesis I-29 and observed in the Garden of Eden.

Entering "vegetarian lent" in your favorite search engine provides ample tips and recipes.

Colin Barnett

Chapel Hill

Salute a senior who volunteers

Every day, seniors in North Carolina are working hard to make a difference in their communities. Their impact can be felt in our local churches, schools, libraries and nonprofits.

Seniors make up a huge portion of our volunteer workforce. In fact, recent research by Home Instead Senior Care shows that 52 percent of seniors volunteer their time through unpaid community service.

One in five seniors who volunteer says their community service is the most important thing they do.

We think it's important, too.

Volunteering is a great way to stay happy, healthy, active and involved. Nearly all senior volunteers feel better emotionally and physically when they volunteer. That's why Home Instead Senior Care launched the Salute to Senior Service program. It's our way of saying "thank you," and to recognize the most outstanding volunteers in America.

Do you know a deserving senior?

Someone who spends countless hours working to make our community a better place?

Perhaps someone who provides companionship or care to a loved one in your life?

Nominate them for recognition at www.salutetoseniorservice.com.

Nominations will be accepted through March 15, and we would love to see a state or national winner come from right here in Chapel Hill.

Seniors fill a multitude of roles and are volunteering now more than ever.

Help us recognize those who give so much in return.

Stephen Lair

Home Instead Senior Care

Girl Scouts say RENCI really cool

Girl Scout Troop 3064 would like to send a special note of thanks to Jason Coposky and everyone else at the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) in Chapel Hill.

Our troop was very fortunate to visit RENCI and learn about their Visualization group. We were able to experience first-hand a number of really cool scientific applications that the group has created.

Among the many RENCI creations that we explored are: a Social Computing Room filled with panoramic images of the bodies of the solar system, a view of London from the very top of St. Paul's Cathedral, and high-resolution cancer images, taken from multiple viewpoints; a 3-D Room filled with "magic" recreations of an F3 tornado, two colliding galaxies, and a journey to the black hole at the center of the Milky Way; and a "4-D" Dome in which we "immersed" ("immersion" being the take-home word of the day) ourselves in simulations of high-speed driving, the inner anatomy of the human body, and an entertaining cartoon on visual illusions related to size, mass, and distance.

Our visit to RENCI was a fantastic learning experience for our girls, as well as a wonderful opportunity for them to consider what is possible for their future.

Thank you, Jason and RENCI.

Kara Fecho

Kristen Zuco

Girl Scout Troop 3064