State Sen. John Marty in his commentary, "Serious about public safety? Regulate guns," in Wednesday's opinion section quotes the U.S. Constitution, telling us the document explicitly uses the term "well-regulated" when referring to gun rights.

Marty doesn't understand the Constitution as well as he thinks he does. In the 18th century, "well-regulated" meant being proper and organized and ready — as a militia had to be. "Well-regulated" meant having a working musket and dry powder and ball at all times. Another example was if a young man intended to go courting the parish pastor's daughter, he had better be well regulated. That is to say, he had better be clean, well dressed, well spoken, of good manners and educated if possible. In the Constitution's Second Amendment there was no intention of "well-regulated" meaning or becoming government-regulated.

Marty uses another example of government regulation that he claims resulted in the saving of lives. He tells us vehicle regulations cut the traffic death toll by 90% over the decades, per mile traveled. What he fails to mention is the billions of dollars spent on safer roads and vastly safer vehicles.

I'm glad Sen. Marty isn't focused on obesity; he would be passing laws to regulate my spoon and my fork.

Earl Faulkner Sr., Edina

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Sen. Marty is spot-on with his proposed legislation for registering and regulating guns as we do with cars. It's high time that we ceased showing American exceptionalism by beating all other countries in the slaughter of children with guns.

Jan Anderson, Inver Grove Heights

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Sen. Marty's proposal to regulate guns is, as he acknowledges, a non-starter on the state level. Alternatively, the Legislature should amend the broad state pre-emption of local firearms regulation. Permitting cities, counties and towns to enact local regulations will help alleviate tensions among our urban, suburban and rural communities.

Jon Steinberg, Minneapolis

The Kremlin's propaganda efforts and belligerence that have been directed at Ukraine are clumsy and dangerous attempts to rewrite history. One of the architects of Russia's propaganda campaign in the past was Kremlin ideologist Vladislav Surkov, who has stated that "there is no Ukraine. There is Ukrainian-ness. That is, a specific disorder of the mind. An astonishing enthusiasm for ethnography, driven to the extreme." Further, he added, "there is no nation. There is only a brochure, 'The Self-Styled Ukraine,' but there is no Ukraine."

This kind of gibberish sounds like Newspeak from George Orwell's novel "1984" or perhaps one of Josef Stalin's endless, babbling speeches to the Politburo. In fact, the Ukrainian language evolved in relative isolation from the Russian language. Russia's imperial authorities systematically persecuted expressions of Ukrainian culture and made continuous attempts to suppress Ukrainian language. In spite of this, a distinct Ukrainian national consciousness emerged in the 19th century.

When the Russian Empire collapsed in the aftermath of the 1917 revolution, Ukrainians declared a state of their own. After several years of warfare and quasi-independence, however, Ukraine was partitioned between the Soviet Union and newly independent Poland. From the early 1930s onward, nationalist sentiments were rigorously suppressed in the Soviet parts of Ukraine, but they remained latent and gained traction through the traumatic experience of the Holodomor, a disastrous famine brought about by Stalin's agricultural policies in 1932-33 that killed between 3 and 5 million Ukrainians. Armed revolts against Soviet rule were staged during and after World War II and were centered on the western regions of Ukraine that had been annexed from Poland in 1939-40.

As far as Putin's claims that Ukraine is an imaginary nation, ample evidence exists to the contrary. A 1720 map of Ukraine that was drawn by the well-known German cartographer Johann Homann clearly shows the existence of Ukraine with boundaries very close to what are claimed by Ukraine today.

My paternal grandparents emigrated to America from Ukraine in the early part of the 20th century. My father was their first born in their new homeland. Their baptism gift to him was a daily prayer book copyrighted in 1889 and written in Ukrainian, not Russian. For Vladimir Putin to say that Ukraine was invented by Vladimir Lenin is simply a Russian fairy tale.

M.L. Kluznik, Mendota Heights

Before another tragedy strikes, the Senate must confirm the nomination of distinguished scholar Prof. Deborah Lipstadt as special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, a position created by Congress in early 2021. This long-overdue appointment is critical in view of the alarming rise in anti-Semitic incidents and hate crimes.

Just last fall, the Anti-Defamation League worked closely with our partners in the FBI and Twin Cities' Jewish community to respond to a threat made against Beth El Synagogue in East St. Louis Park and the vandalization of more than 30 grave markers at Chesed Shel Emes Cemetery in St. Paul.

And on a national basis, the numbers are striking. In 2020, there were 2,024 reported anti-Semitic incidents in the United States — the third-highest year on record. Like FBI hate crimes statistics, it is likely that these numbers are significantly underreported. Hate and bigotry are on the rise, yet the highest-ranking U.S. government post on anti-Semitism sits empty. The Senate must confirm Lipstadt now.

Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, this situation is urgent. Lipstadt has dedicated her life to combating and exposing Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. She is the world's leading historian and educator on anti-Semitism, and she is eminently qualified for the position of special envoy. Any delay in her confirmation ensures that anti-Semitic incidents and hate crimes will persist and continue their unprecedented escalation. If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Lipstadt is uniquely positioned to help avert that outcome. Vote yes and confirm her now.

Frances H. Krasnow, Board Chair, ADL Midwest Region

Barbara Adelman, Past Board Chair, ADL Midwest

Brian Boorstein, Past Board Chair, ADL Midwest

Denise Caplan, Past Board Chair, ADL Midwest

Tom Goldblatt, Immediate Past Board Chair, ADL Midwest

Thomas Homburger, Past Board Chair, ADL Midwest

Sylvia Margolies, Past Board Chair, ADL Midwest

Myron Resnick, Past Board Chair, ADL Midwest

Michael Rothstein, Past Board Chair, ADL Midwest

Thank you, Patrick Reusse, for your recent column on Title IX ("Growth for women's sports, and me," Feb. 23). Sports for girls were new when I was in high school. We knew we were second-class in the gym because everyone told us that — except for newspapers and TV sports desks, which ignored us. Kudos to those who have persevered. I've been a sports fan my entire life and pay good money to attend games in all seasons. I was at the Final Four in 1995 at Target Center and I'll be there again in April.

I've been reading your sports page since the 1980s and hoping for a little coverage for all the athletes I follow. It's a thrill to read regular pieces now about women in sports — and see female bylines. The column today is encouraging to realize that a curmudgeon like Reusse would change his tune.

Suzanne Olson, Maple Grove

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I appreciate Reusse's chronicling the growth of women's sports and his own personal growth stemming from the passage of Title IX. I watch in admiration the new generation of women athletes and lament the lack of opportunity for my own. As a point of clarification: Reusse suggests that women were expected to be content with being band members. My wife and I recently interviewed members of our retirement community's all-female band for a documentary. We were shocked to learn that many were excluded from their college bands! Our own University of Minnesota's marching band barred female musicians from full membership until 1972.

Becky Bohan, North Fort Myers, Fla.

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