Letters to the Editor: June 29, 2022

It’s time for Martin County to raise the pay of substitute teachers

As a substitute teacher in Martin County, I believe that's it's time to consider a pay raise for the hundreds of dedicated people trying to make a living. I recently went to the Martin County School District office in Stuart and voiced my opinion. To my delight they admitted that it was probably time to give substitutes a raise.

Also, to make our voices heard, they have board meetings at 4 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month at 500 E. Ocean Blvd. So on July 19 I hope to be one of many to help stand up for this very important job. In 2019, your writer Gil Smart wrote that the average pay was $86.25 per day. Then, with a three-month summer off, it is very difficult to fill in another job during that period.

Jenene Skrupky, Port St. Lucie

My mother provided sanctuary for women: Now I will take on her mantle

Fifty-five years ago my mother, a Catholic married woman with seven children of her own, provided sanctuary to women seeking illegal abortions. Having traveled great distances, women would arrive after dinner. My mother would quietly welcome them and settle them in a spare bedroom. By morning they were gone.

My mother knew the hardship an unplanned pregnancy would bring upon a woman and her family. She also trusted women to make the best decisions for themselves and their families. She had great compassion for other women, other mothers. I know she did not believe that government should have a role in determining private matters such as family planning.

Several years later Roe v. Wade made illegal abortions unnecessary. Three generations have grown up believing they have a right to privacy. Now, abortion legality is left to the states as it was 55 years ago. Now elected officials, mostly men, will have governance over women in a shocking way.

I believe as my mother did that women should be trusted to make family planning decisions for themselves. There is no place for government to insert itself, to intrude or criminalize some of the most private and impactful decisions women will ever make. We know from history that making abortion illegal will not stop the need. Men will continue to impregnate women, some in an unplanned way and others in a most unsavory way. Now like my mother I will pick up the mantle and aid and abet women who need help at one of the most difficult times in their lives.

Yes, I will vote. I always have. I encourage everyone who is outraged by this Supreme Court ruling to be active, do what you can to support women. Don’t wait for November to do something. And yes, please vote.

Kathleen Jaskolski, Vero Beach

The right to carry a gun for self-defense isn’t limited to a special few

So, the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional, as inconsistent with the history of the Second Amendment, the New York State law that citizens must prove they have “proper cause” to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon outside their home.

On the left they are gnashing their teeth and clutching their necklaces, and they have set about figuring out a “work-around” to screw the law-abiding American citizens. Not the bad guys, mind you, but the good guys. Now just “anyone,” they scream, will be able to go into subways, or for that matter, anywhere they want.

All the politicians have to do is demand enforcement of the on-the-books gun laws. What’s wrong with that? How often do we read about a bad guy with a record of multiple arrests for gun possessions – some in the subways – released! While bad guys are not prosecuted or sent to jail for illegal gun possession, weeping politicians are searching for ways to penalize law-abiding citizens.

Kinda makes ya wonder, are there that many illegal gun constituents? Do they have lobbyists?

By the way, the National Rifle Association is not just for guns. It’s protecting Second Amendment rights and the Constitution. No amendment should be legislated out of existence by nickel-and-diming. There’s a constitutional method for doing that and it was deliberately made difficult.

Jim Grant, Jensen Beach

Democrats try to pass reasonable gun laws but can’t get Republicans to agree

I received a political flier the other day (via email) notifying me of a person running for office in Indian River County. Their announcement showed them lying on the ground shooting an AR-15 for fun and “my” protection.

In light of the recent massacres in Uvalde, Buffalo, Maryland committed with this assault weapon, the visual chosen lacked any sensitivity and was, frankly, abhorrent. It’s akin to Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) sending out Christmas photos of her children holding rifles or Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) standing in front of a poster of “the Squad” while holding an AR-15. Why do they need to lie and threaten people? According to www.politicusa.com, “The Republican Party lies to their base as an intentional strategy to mislead the country.”

Since Sandy Hook, Democratic lawmakers have tried to pass reasonable gun control laws (no, they do not want to take your guns away), but have been unable to get the Republicans to agree. Democrats believe that they can reduce gun violence while respecting the rights of responsible gun owners, by expanding and strengthening background checks, raising the age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle, licensing, classes, wait time, red flag law and more (www.newsweek.com). What was signed doesn’t address assault weapons.

The following is from an editorial in the French newspaper Le Monde: “If there is still an American exceptionalism, it is to tolerate its schools being regularly transformed into shooting ranges, sticky with blood. America is killing itself, and the Republican Party is looking elsewhere.”

Vote as if your life and your children’s lives depend on it.

Mary Jane Romano, Vero Beach

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Gun laws, abortion rights, pay for sub teachers: Letters, June 29