Thanks to Missouri’s voter ID law, Kansas Citians must pay to vote. I refuse to do it | Opinion

Voting must be free

I moved back from Michigan in September 1975 and registered to vote in Kansas City in 1976, and later in eastern Jackson County. I have missed three elections since then.

But this month, even though I am a registered voter, I was told I could not cast a ballot at my normal polling place. I presented my clearly labeled Jackson County voter identification card. I was told I needed a photo ID. So I showed a current credit card that has my picture on it. I was told no.

The poll worker requested my driver’s license. I said that is for driving, and I paid for it. The worker requested my passport. I said that is for leaving the country, and I paid for it.

Voting is supposed to be free, and voters should simply have to be registered. I am. If picture ID is required by law, it must be provided for free — otherwise, it costs a person to vote. The Missouri Department of Revenue charges a fee for a nondriver ID card.

I didn’t vote because I refused to pay for it. The workers at my polling place were very nice, but they were put into a bad and unconstitutional position by Missouri’s politicians.

- James Brown, Blue Springs

Let’s be serious

With all the silliness in Topeka, Jefferson City, Tallahassee and other state capitals, it’s good to see that Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has the vision to veto several bills that have absolutely nothing to do with good governance, even though the Legislature’s GOP supermajority overrode her on some of the most divisive laws.

Transgender rights, women’s control of their bodies and guns are wedge issues devised by Republicans to stir up their base and divert voters’ attention from important issues such as climate change, homelessness and nuclear weapons.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis should be paying attention.

- Mike Brown, Kansas City

Gun responsibility

I live in Overland Park. Both my children attended Olathe East High School. There was a shooting there, and the principal, school resource officer and gunman were shot.

My son worked at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park. There was a shooting there, and a young boy and his grandfather were killed.

My daughter worked at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe. There was a shooting there, and two people were killed.

Thankfully, both my children had graduated from Olathe East and quit their jobs before these shootings occurred. But what if they hadn’t? It would have been at the very least extremely traumatic and even potentially deadly for both.

Need I say more? Yes I do. We need reasonable gun laws in this country, a federal ban on assault weapons and a federal database where all law enforcement agencies in the United States can report people who are restricted from owning guns in their states.

Will this stop all these shootings? No. But it’s a start.

Finally, I am a gun owner. I support the Second Amendment. But with every right comes responsibility, and we’re not being responsible — especially with the lives of our children.

- Traci Harken, Overland Park

Build a better lot

I made my first trip to pick up passengers at the new Kansas City International Airport and started the process in the cellphone lot. I found this holding area to work well, enabling me to wait for my arrivers to notify me that they were at the curb — not just that their plane had landed — and tell me their location.

Our state-of-the-art airport needs a equally advanced cellphone lot so that it becomes a normal part of the pickup process. It must be well-marked and easy to enter and exit. The current lot is tight and backed up with traffic constantly coming and going.

Enhancements to the ease of use, comfort, functionality and safety of the cell lot, such as adding an electronic arrival update board and other amenities, would go a long way toward making people want to wait until they know their pickup is already at the curb.

- Jerry Joyner, Overland Park

Royal treatment

Recent discussions have focused on the possible construction of a stadium for the Royals downtown. Central to these talks has been the necessity of Jackson County taxpayers helping foot the bill, with the Royals’ perspective being, “Give us more money and trust us to be better”.

We understand what the Royals want from us, but it is less clear what the Royals would do to reciprocate. If the best predictor of future performance is past performance, we are in trouble.

Supposedly, a new stadium and revenue it generates would help make the Royals competitive, but today’s actions suggest that is unlikely to happen. The current team is hardly major league. The farm system is unproductive. It does not bid on free agents, and the success of Tampa Bay suggests that a limited media market doesn’t explain everything.

Perhaps the Royals could try a new tactic: Provide each Jackson County taxpayer with four free tickets (and not in the nosebleed sections). Reduce parking prices by half. Reduce the cost of food and drink by 30%.

Empty seats do not produce revenue. People in the park do. After all, if the product is not major league, why charge major league prices?

- Terry Rodenberg, Greenwood

Blocked off

I want to thank Spire Energy for improving the safety of my neighborhood walks. If I happen to cross a street without looking in both directions, I’m relatively safe since there is about a 50% chance the street is closed to traffic for gas line work.

- Tim Connealy, Kansas City

Not their place

I am deeply opposed to Missouri S.B. 49 and H.B. 419, which would allow state lawmakers to impose their personal beliefs on matters of individuals’ health care. These two bills would do considerable damage to transgender and gender-diverse youth.

Back in June 2021, the American Medical Association strengthened its established position opposing government intrusion into the practice of medicine that is detrimental to the health of transgender and gender-diverse children and adults.

Additional trauma is being caused by politicians who have no business interfering with medical treatment as determined by patients and their physicians.

- Maurice Parisien, Ballwin, Missouri