Letters to the editor for Saturday, May 3

In response to your April 28 editorial on the new teen-driving laws, it is unfair that the Star Tribune only attacks teens on this issue when senior citizens are just as big of a problem.

There are already many laws restricting teens' driving, but yet there are still many accidents. Maybe that is because teens aren't the biggest problem.

Older adults should be required to retake their driver's test and there should be restrictions on their driving as well as the ones that are already in effect for teens.

CHELSEA REGAN, CHAMPLIN

Another "Grand Theft Auto" release, another round of calls for censorship. We should hardly be surprised. After all, in 1816, the Times of London found a new dance called the waltz so shocking that it felt "a duty to warn every parent against exposing his daughter to so fatal a contagion." A century later, we were told that a new medium called the motion picture would corrupt society beyond repair. Somehow, we have managed to survive dancing and movies.

As for video games? This, too, shall pass.

IAN TURNER, ST. PAUL

"Grand Theft Auto IV" is the newest installment in the franchise and takes place in a fictional Liberty City. Critics claim that -- with all the drugs, sex, violence and the game's newest feature, drunken driving -- kids are becoming brainwashed into going out and doing those same things. They argue that the game should be banned or given an AO (adults only) rating, which would basically shut down the game because Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo do not advertise or allow AO games in the United States.

The game is already rated M (mature), meaning it is not intended for, nor can it be sold to, anyone under the age of 17. Parents need to be aware of what they are buying for their children and letting them play or watch.

KEVIN MAHONEY, GOODHUE, MINN.

I was confused by the May 1 article "Immigrant rally shrouded by fear."

I've never heard of Minnesotans being deported. The article must have meant illegal aliens are fearful of being deported.

The April 28 Supreme Court ruling upholding Indiana's strict voter photo ID law is only the most recent example of how politicians put obstacles to voting in front of some Americans. All Americans have a right to vote, even if they don't have a current photo ID.

First-time voters are registering this year in record numbers, but now many may be turned away at the polls. We're talking about young people, the poor and Americans of color -- the ones who are less likely to have government-issued ID with their current address. A University of Washington study found that in Indiana 22 percent of African-American voters lacked proper identification, compared with 16 percent of white voters. A February survey by Rock the Vote found that 19 percent of young people age 18 to 29 did not have their current address on their ID.

This Election Day Americans will vote for a new president and a new direction. Young people want to make sure there are good jobs when they graduate. Grandparents want the next generation to be better off than their generation. Our communities want to rebuild from the mortgage meltdown. Americans want to exercise their hard-won right to vote.

The Supreme Court ruling is disappointing for all of us who want the next president to be chosen in a free and fair election in which all eligible voters have an equal opportunity to participate.

SUNDAY ALABI, MINNEAPOLIS

I should know better than to be surprised by election-year pandering, but this is really beyond the pale. Not only would 18.4 cents per gallon save the average consumer about $20 over the course of the summer, but the fact is that basic supply-and-demand tells us that gas prices would likely just rise to their previous levels. Her plan would provide no relief, rob the Highway Trust Fund of desperately needed money, and basically would hand it off to the oil companies instead.

Score another one for Sen. Barack Obama.