Letters: KC readers discuss TV lawyer commercials, delta in Missouri, Sharice Davids
Call us now
Aren’t you relieved your attorney isn’t one of these lawyers who advertise on TV 200 times a day, especially those seemingly modeled after the ones in the “Breaking Bad” or “Better Call Saul” TV series? I sure am.
- Whit Welker, Lee’s Summit
At major risk
I am a Kansas City resident with a medically suppressed immune system caused by multiple sclerosis. I have been keeping a very close eye on the COVID-19 outbreak since November 2019. I have received the Pfizer vaccine, yet because of my situation (I’m not alone) I still must rely on others to also get vaccinated for me to be protected.
Vaccination rates in this state are abysmal, and that means I and others like me are still medically required to wear masks whenever we’re out and about. I am basically required to spend extra money (of which I have very little, as I’m on disability) for my own safety by subscribing to services such as Instacart in order to avoid the mass of unvaccinated and unmasked people in the stores.
With the delta variant quickly spreading in the U.S. and Missouri, my vaccination is less likely to protect me, and that means I am still at risk, along with many others.
This vaccination honor system is not helpful to people like me who have no choice in how susceptible they are to this virus even after vaccination.
- Trisha Mulvaney, Kansas City
Fair voting
In U.S. elections, one person equals one vote, but that standard is in jeopardy.
After Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, he fabricated the Big Lie that the election was stolen from him because of voter fraud, even though the election was the most secure in history. Then he incited the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol to interrupt certification of the election.
According to 501(c)(3) nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice, in response, Republicans in 48 state legislatures have introduced at least 389 voter suppression bills that would disenfranchise people of color and young voters, who usually vote for Democrats.
Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our functioning democracy. Our ancestors fought and died for our right to vote, but voting is now under assault by Republicans.
The GOP is waging an all-out war on our voting rights and our democracy. Republicans are afraid of losing another election, so they are rigging the system to make it harder for minorities to vote.
Congress must pass the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to prevent these extreme state voter suppression laws.
Our democracy is in peril. We cannot allow one person = one vote to be replaced.
- Jane Toliver, Leawood
Represent everyone
Former Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle last year openly revealed the plans of Republicans to gerrymander Kansas’ 3rd District. (May 4, 1A, “Republicans might draw Davids out of Congress”) She and her fellow Republicans know this is the only way they can win this district.
As a resident of the 3rd, I would like to tell Wagle and her compatriots to keep their hands off.
Rep. Sharice Davids continues to represent all the people of her district. She has led responsibly and stays focused on the needs and issues of her constituents. The residents of the 3rd District can be proud of the job Davids is doing for us.
Gov. Laura Kelly has called for a nonpartisan voting commission to oversee the upcoming redistricting in January. Join me in telling Republicans to stop the gerrymandering.
- Sally Stanton, Overland Park
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: KC readers discuss TV lawyer commercials, delta in Missouri, Sharice Davids."