Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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My husband and I are in complete agreement with the July 6 editorial ("Restore order in Minneapolis"). Before COVID-19 and the subsequent rioting, we frequently drove into the city and patronized restaurants, museums and the arts. Last evening, we returned to downtown for a family birthday dinner.

In a span of less than five minutes after leaving the restaurant, our group of three was confronted by two men asking for money. Thinking that we would be safer in front of a hotel with a lot of foot traffic around, we waited in the valet space for our ride home. Suddenly, an aggressive man who was obviously high ran across the street at us, eyed my purse and proceeded to tell us that he had robbed banks and was never caught. He was right up in the face of my son and touching the hair of his girlfriend as we anxiously waited for my husband, and there was not a policeman in sight.

On the drive home, we were all unhappy; the fun of my son's 23rd birthday celebration had been deflated. I no longer felt inclined to return to the city that I have loved for more than 30 years.

Jenni Charrier, Orono

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I don't know about the rest of you Minneapolitans, but I'm really tired of the mayor and others, after a crime spree such as that which happened downtown on July 4th, saying, "Let me be clear. This will not be tolerated." How many times have we heard that? How easy it is to say words, always after the fact, then do absolutely nothing to back them up. It's even sillier to say that after instructions were given not to call 911 for fireworks complaints. What a message that sends!

Plan A: Tell the parents and friends of the miscreants to get them under control. That's working well.

One arrest was made. One! Is that person even still in custody? Will he or she receive any meaningful consequences if charged?

This city is entirely out of control and has been for the past three years. If 2022 continues as is, we will equal or top the murder rate of the past two. Mayor Jacob Frey and the rest of you elected officials, including county attorneys and judges: Get your acts together and do something that makes a difference. Words aren't even a palliative anymore, if they ever were. Remember the old saying "put your money (and solutions that work) where your mouth is"? Try that for a change.

Jeanne Torma, Minneapolis

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The night of July 4th I finished watching at home the movie "The Batman." That movie often showed the spotlight being used at night by police Lt. Gordon to summon Batman. Judging from the Star Tribune, we could have used a "Batman" on July 4th. Often after reading the local section, I think the Twin Cities are becoming Gotham Cities. Where is our Batman?

Mark Luther, Wayzata

I no longer feel safe going to the grocery store, a movie, a concert, church or a parade. I do not believe that my nieces and nephews are safe at school or participating in extracurricular activities. "Lucky" is the new word to hang on to. If we make it home, we're lucky.

Margaret Gemmell, Coon Rapids

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Thought for today: Why did we not have this gun violence in the 1950s, '60s and '70s?

What is different? Get a paper and pencil and make your list. There is your reason for "gun violence."

Edward McHugh, Lindstrom, Minn.

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It seems unlikely that the recent gun-control legislation will significantly change the uncontrolled mayhem we are now experiencing. Given that doing something is better than doing nothing, is it time to consider the Republicans' theory that the problem is not guns but mental health? I recall the former administration promising a new health care plan. President Joe Biden should challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to produce a mental health care plan as a solution for gun violence, and say he will sign it. How does it go? "Put your money where your mouth is?"

Dudley H. Davis, Byron, Minn.

The writer is a retired physician.

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America's murder of children in classrooms, murder of grocery shoppers, murder of Walmart shoppers, murder of parade watchers, murder of police officers, murder of churchgoers, murder of domestic partners, murder of rival gang members — murder, murder, murder — is allowable because of the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment is the root cause. Other nations have the ability to have as many or more guns as America. Can you figure out what makes the difference?

Paul Grehl, Hastings

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On June 26 I was serving as lector at our church, and I read these words that St. Paul had written to the people of first-century Galatia (Galatians 5:15):

"But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another."

Reading and hearing the news since then, I have been thinking that Paul's ancient, cautionary words seem to apply to us, the 21st-century people of the United States of America. What do you think?

Esther Bunch, Bloomington

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More citizen murders by gun. No matter your religious beliefs, I think that only God can help us now.

Jane Michaels, Minneapolis

Now that a fetus is a person, I am waiting for Congress to require that unborn children be counted in the census and permit them to be deducted on tax returns.

Ann King, Minneapolis

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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., may be right that the Roe decision strengthens the GOP's grip on red states, but it only further weakens red America's economy, now just 30% of the nation's GDP, as companies flee to less restrictive states. Instead of fueling people's anger with social issues, the GOP should focus more on equipping rural residents, in the face of the ongoing automation of red America's core industries of agriculture, mining and manufacturing, with the skills they will need to succeed economically, something that has worked very well in Blue America.

Thomas Fisher, St. Paul

After reading "General Mills' profits climb" (June 30), I wondered if people still largely blame the Biden administration for consumer price inflation. Because here's what I learned: that General Mills' fiscal fourth-quarter (March to May) profits under chief executive Jeff Harmening increased by 97% in 2022 over 2021 to reach $822.8 million. This was a gain of approximately $405 million in a single year. How did they do that!? Oh, they raised prices. Considered consumers? Fuhgeddaboudit. Will we now hear a new slogan, "Let's go Jeff!"?

Howard R. Schneider, Lakeville

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A bumper sticker I've spotted on some 18-wheelers is my favorite: "Don't like trucks? Stop buying stuff." I think we could apply the same logic to inflation.

Conrad deFiebre, Minneapolis

As I wrote this on Monday, my husband and I had just returned from an evening walk at Fish Lake Regional Park in Maple Grove.

Families large and small were celebrating July 4th surrounded by camp chairs, blankets, coolers, grills and laden picnic tables. Screams of joy from the swimming beach, and shouts from a volleyball game echoed through the park. On our walk we heard three languages other than English. As we returned to the parking lot my husband said, "This is the America I want to live in — one full of diversity."

Christine Lane, Maple Grove