Readers react to petition drives, Missouri ethics bills and a tourism slogan
Signing petitions
Missourians have the right to sign petitions. But there’s more to it than simply inking your name on a page. What should you do before you sign?
Know the law. Every petition must clearly state the ballot title and have attached a copy of the fiscal note, which tells how much it will cost the state (and you) and the full and correct text of the legislation the ballot initiative supports.
Beware of the presentation. You may be offered a simple reason to sign that sounds attractive, but before you do:
▪ Ask to see the fiscal note. Are you OK with the cost?
▪ Ask to see the full and complete text. Only if you understand it and support it should you sign. Initiative petitions in our state change the Constitution.
▪ Watch out for high pressure. Do you get angry when you hear of legislators who vote for bills they have not read? Then why would you sign a petition to change our state’s Constitution without reading it?
I am thankful that we, as citizens, have the initiative petition process available when the government will not hear us.
Let’s use this tool responsibly.
Rep. Nick King
District 17
Liberty
Push for ethics bills
After years of fruitless discussion, the Missouri General Assembly appears ready to pass legislation to ensure our elected officials represent their constituents’ interests — not the special interests that regularly call the Capitol home (1-8, A5, “Ethics rules are in focus as Missouri session opens”).
From lobbying reforms and transparency measures to gift restrictions and campaign-finance changes, the list of issues being debated and the seriousness with which they’re being debated is a vast improvement over past reform attempts.
Indeed, prospects are good that the chambers will send real ethics legislation to the governor this year, and if they do, it will be a great success for supporters of good governance.
Kudos to the legislators from both sides of the aisle who are leading this effort. I hope they are successful.
Patrick Ishmael
Director
Government
Accountability
Show-Me Institute
Kansas City
Define immigrant
Many do not understand the distinction between immigrants and refugees. All refugees are immigrants, but not all immigrants are refugees.
An immigrant moves from one country to another. A refugee moves from his country of origin out of fear for his well-being.
He gains legal status in another country through application to the United Nations or application for asylum to a specific country. In the U.S. refugees get an initial sum of money, low-cost housing, Medicaid and other entitlements.
It is important to note that the terms are not interchangeable.
Jerry Kaplan
Prairie Village
Tourism slogan
I understand the Brownback administration is looking for a new slogan.
I have one I’d like to submit — “Kansas: So much fun even our governor’s a joke.”
Chris Brethwaite
Kansas City
Refugees welcome
I would be happy to welcome Syrian and other refugee families to Kansas City and my neighborhood. I suspect many other Kansas Citians would do the same.
Jerry Venters
Kansas City
Wannabe leaders
Two guidelines that have stood out for me since I started thinking about things are: “Let him among us who is without sin cast the first stone” and “Congress shall make no law regarding an establishment of religion” (from the Bible and the Constitution).
They came to mind recently when I read about an Iowa conference attended by two presidential candidates (11-22, Commentary, “Incendiary anti-gay comments part of religious freedom rally”).
One of the meeting’s sponsors, a clergyman, said, in effect, that our leaders don’t need to impose the death penalty on homosexuals because God will take care of torturing them forever after their deaths and quoted passages from the Bible to that effect. The two would-be presidents approved of the statement.
The concept that people born with sexual settings different from ours should be tortured forever by a just God (who made them) repels me, and the fact that so many otherwise decent people agree with this dismays me.
Ben Vineyard
St. Joseph
This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Readers react to petition drives, Missouri ethics bills and a tourism slogan."