Guns are protected and encouraged, except when a protester has one? | Opinion
No dream
I can’t understand this. U.S. Rep. Mark Alford of Missouri believes Americans have the God-given right to lawfully carry a firearm. What God is he talking about? Whose God? One of the Ten Commandments clearly states: “Thou shalt not kill.” Well, guns kill. They are designed to kill.
In this society, guns are protected and encouraged — as well as lethal and responsible for countless deaths. A protester in Minnesota legally carries a gun, is killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent with a gun, and then the protester is vilified because he was carrying a gun, including by Alford. Where is the logic in that?
It’s exhausting and infuriating and heartbreaking to watch this nation torn apart by such brutal interactions with ICE, then hearing spin on what happened. I want my country back. I miss civility and empathy and acceptance of one another, no matter our color or where we come from.
I keep wanting to wake up and realize it’s just a bad dream. Sadly, it’s not.
- Shirley Lewis, Overland Park
Electric woes
It seems the ultimate goal of the anti-pollution extremists to produce all-electric, supposedly ”clean“ energy over oil- and-gas-powered has evolved to transportation. The problem is that production of all-electric vehicles creates many components, such as batteries and related electronic parts, that produce more pollutants in their manufacture. Another even bigger danger is that electricity production is so fragile to interrupt, and electric cars take time to recharge, limiting long trips.
Gas-powered vehicles are quick to refill, and their exhausts are dealt with effectively. If someone decides to enslave Americans , they could just turn off or interrupt the power source at will. Remember the films “1984” and “Soylent Green.”
- William A. Ingram, Kansas City
Rule by bullet?
Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin wrote on Facebook: ”People who show up at a law enforcement event with a gun and participate are asking for whatever they get.“ (Jan. 28, 1A, “Framing of gun rights seems to shift after Alex Pretti shooting”)
Did all of the many Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrectionists who were armed deserve to be shot dead, too? Missouri and the United States of America cannot be led by people who think a bullet is the only way to rule.
- Marty Mayer, Lee’s Summit
Pardon limits
An open letter to members of the U.S. Congress:
It is time to propose an amendment to the Constitution. It is a commonsense idea, and I can think of no state better to put it forth than Kansas, which has a long history of producing leaders who believe in common sense.
Since the presidential pardon power (including reprieves) can be misused and abused by presidents of either party to the detriment of us all, I suggest that Kansas’ members of Congress propose this amendment: “The president shall no longer have the power to grant pardons for offenses against the United States, and any reprieves by the president must first be recommended by Congress in a manner it shall prescribe.”
Constitutional amendments must be approved by two-thirds of each chamber of Congress and three-fourths of the states. Let’s correct something that the founders did not foresee so no future leader can wield that power for personal favor, profit or protection.
- Dan O’Connell, Kansas City
Religion, law
History has many examples of radicalized religion-based political movements that ultimately brought out the worst in humanity. We are experiencing such a movement in the United States that very much mirrors the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Civil rights are being ignored. Laws are selectively interpreted and enforced by our government. Our leaders are lying and gaslighting us about their clearly observable corruption and incompetence. What did we expect when we elected a lifelong white-collar criminal, multi-time business failure and morally bankrupt man to be our president? And then our cowardly GOP senators confirmed appointees whose sole qualifications were being loyal and faithful servants to this small man.
So now we’re committing war crimes around the globe, alienating every ally, experiencing outbreaks of previously eradicated diseases and killing our own citizens in their neighborhoods.
Don’t be fooled by their facade of Christianity. Their lived values, actions and objectives contradict the teachings of the Bible. They are aggressively executing their written plan to establish and maintain control of every aspect of your life.
We must vote every MAGA loyalist out of every public office before we become “we the militarily oppressed.”
- Jonathan Phillips, Osage Beach, Missouri
Not welcome
Dear Kansas,
Soon, you will look around and see zero transgender people in your state. In fact, I am counting down the days until I can break free from a state aggressively and endlessly communicating I don’t belong. (Jan. 28, 1A, “Kansas lawmakers vote to police bathrooms in public buildings — without comment”)
I hear you loud and clear, Kansas, the state I’ve called home for a decade . My only hope is to survive to May 2030, when I board a rented moving truck minutes after my youngest child obtains her high school diploma. Finally, I will be free from the consternation of deciding whether to maintain a consistent life with my kids or uproot my family for my own safety.
This stress and anxiety is relentless. I am exhausted. My community is exhausted.
For years, I’ve heard empty assurances that I belong. Meanwhile, the torment from your Legislature intensifies. Please save your breath, as I have no space in my heart to believe anything except: I am not welcome.
Only 221 more weeks to survive. Please keep my community in your thoughts and prayers. I know how we love that phrase.
Without a home.
- Hazel Krebs, Westwood