Letters: Gov. Mike Parson and the Missouri legislature, you work for us

Looking to 2020

The voters of Missouri are having their rights stripped away incrementally by Gov. Mike Parson, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and our legislators in Jefferson City.

One volatile example is abortion rights. The above-mentioned elected officials do not believe the voters of Missouri are smart enough to have a say in what is legislated. They are afraid to hear the opinions of the voters who elect them.

Our legislators (who, by the way, are supposed to represent all Missourians) voted for very restrictive anti-abortion laws. Parson’s administration filed a lawsuit to close Planned Parenthood in Missouri, affecting many other health-related services Planned Parenthood provides for women.

Ashcroft was derelict in his duty to work on a request for a petition until the deadline to get it on the ballot was passed, so the question of abortion rights could not be put before the voters in the 2020 election, thus preventing Missourians from voicing their opinions.

An issue of this magnitude should have been put to the people of Missouri. Instead, we have been denied the fundamental right to vote our conscience.Thankfully, there are some candidates running who will give us the opportunity to vote our conscience in 2020.

- Ken Horgan, Mountain View, Missouri