Letters to the editor: Parental rights and transgender; Trump threatens democracy

Parents have the right to know

Re: The Associated Press’ Aug. 7 story, “Calif. investigates school district’s policy”:

The issue is the notification of parents if their child identifies as transgender or wants to use a name or pronoun different from what’s on their birth certificate. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the policy, approved by the Chino Valley Unified School District in July, could force schools to “out” their students, increasing a student’s risk of being bullied or committing self-harm or suicide. This is a moronic statement. It will be common knowledge among students at the school and only the parents would not know.

The policy requires parents to be notified within three days if their child asked for access to gender-based sports or wants to use a different bathroom or changing rooms that do not match their assigned gender at birth. State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond spoke at the public hearing of the school district board and spoke out against the proposal.

First, let’s talk about parents’ rights. Parents are legally and physically responsible for their children until they are 18 years old. If their child causes property damage, those parents are responsible. Secondly, parents have to sign an acknowledgment if their child needs special medications during the school day to allow the child or the school district to administer the treatment. Parents have to sign for field trips and a multitude of other things giving their permission to the school district.

Parents have a right to know what is going on with their child. I would bet both Bonta and Thurmond want to know about their children.

Jack Freeman, Simi Valley

Latest indictment is disturbing

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, the evidence revealed in the latest indictment of Donald Trump should disturb every American who cares about protecting our freedom to vote and our democracy. In the latest indictment, President Donald Trump and key allies — including his lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — were indicted on 41 criminal charges for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

According to these indictments, Trump deliberately spread disinformation about the 2020 election, then used those lies to pressure state officials in Georgia and other swing states to overturn the will of voters, including by asking the Georgia secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes.” He and his cronies leaned on everyone they could to carry out their plans, from state officials to former Vice President Mike Pence.

When they couldn’t steal the presidency by throwing out votes or through phony paperwork, they rioted on our nation’s Capitol in an attempt to stop the election from being certified.

Some pundits are treating Trump’s indictments like political theater, but that’s not what this is about. It’s about being able to confidently cast our ballots as Americans, certain that our vote will be counted, no matter our political party. It’s about whether a president and his allies who are trying to cling to power should be able to throw out votes that they don’t like. The answer, of course, must be resoundingly no. We, the American people, choose our leaders, and not the other way around.

These are serious crimes against our country. To preserve the rule of law and our democracy, we must let the legal process proceed, without interruption or interference.

Our democracy depends on it.

Ada N. Ocasio, Oxnard

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Parental rights and transgender; Trump threatens democracy