Readers react to the Supreme Court vacancy, gun control and an editorial cartoon
High court vacancy
Regarding the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, come on, GOP, wake up, smell the coffee and let President Barack Obama fill it.
Seriously, consider the appropriateness of his nomination versus one by Republican presidential candidate and billionaire Donald Trump. Do you want to risk it?
Ruth Fine
Paola, Kan.
Ban gun control
Urging more gun control is ridiculous. Americans need to be armed at all times.
California has among the strictest gun control but had the worst terrorist attack since 9/11. How did the terrorists get the handguns and assault rifles if the state they lived in bans them?
Gun control won’t stop people from getting guns. If people at San Bernardino, Calif., were armed legally, they could have prevented 14 people being slain.
Gun-control limits the American citizens’ right to bear arms and protect themselves.
People want to blame the gun, when it’s the radicals or nut jobs who have serious issues. People need to be armed to protect themselves and their property.
The government wants to take away people’s guns to control them. They want total control over the citizens.
The American people need to say no to gun control.
Hayden Parks
Drexel, Mo.
Offensive cartoon
We moved to the Kansas City area about one year ago. We have appreciated and enjoyed The Star, especially your opinion pages.
However, the editorial cartoon Feb. 17 by Dana Summers of the Tribune Content Agency shows President Barack Obama behind a lectern (with a cartoon sad face). He says, “My condolences go out to the Scalia family.”
However, behind President Obama is his shadow celebrating Scalia’s death with a smiling face, party hat, a cocktail, confetti and a balloon.
Bad! More than poor taste, it was disgraceful.
Come on, you good Opinion page people. You can do better, I hope.
William W.
McDermet
Raymore
Citizenship rules
I was born in France in the 1940s. My father was an American citizen born in Missouri and served in World War II.
He met and married my mother in France. When I was about 3 months old, my mother and I came to the United States.
My mother went through the naturalization process and became a U.S. citizen. My father was told that because he was American-born I was automatically a citizen.
So imagine my surprise just before my 18th birthday when I received a letter from the Immigration and Naturalization Service basically asking whether I planned on becoming a U.S. citizen because I’d been in the United States for 18 years.
My father checked and found out that because I was born in a French army hospital that was on French soil I was not a U.S. citizen.
Eventually, I got naturalized and am now a U.S. citizen.
The sad thing is I have heard different stories from others born outside the United States.
Others have either had or have not had to become naturalized. No one seems to know what the rule is.
Loretta Russell
Kansas City, Kan.
GOP intrusion
The Republican politicians in Jefferson City are the most intrusive in the history of Missouri.
In 2004, voters in the state passed a citizens’ initiative to raise the minimum wage and to tie it to rising costs of living.
In 2006, when the Republicans were in control of our legislature, they overturned that law.
When Missourians voted to control puppy mills, the Republicans overturned that.
More recently, they forced Kansas City to eliminate its new minimum-wage law, which would have increased the wage and adjusted it each year up to $13 an hour by 2020.
Just to have a minimum wage equivalent to what it was in 1959, that wage would need to be that much right now.
But Republicans have blocked the city from passing that increase. They also cut the top income tax for high-income workers but did nothing for the middle class.
Then, lately, the Republicans in the state legislature have tried to eliminate Kansas City’s earning tax. That earnings tax is important to Kansas City.
The Republicans are sticking their noses in where they do not belong.
Gene W. DeVaux
Greenwood
This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Readers react to the Supreme Court vacancy, gun control and an editorial cartoon."