Voice of the People: Guns have more rights than women

Guns have more rights than women

As of right now, AK-47s and other guns have more rights than women in Polk County and the United States. This is the first time in my lifetime that a class of citizens has been stripped of a right they have had for 49 years.

This was done by a politicized Supreme Court made up of five constitutional fundamentalists and one handmaiden of the conservative Republican Party.

It is also sad that in Polk County we have two Republican state representatives that voted for Florida’s 15 weeks ban on abortion and have been reelected with no opposition. That would be Melony Bell and Sam Killebrew. Both, to my knowledge, have never considered women’s health as an important issue, except to restrict it. These are the same two elected officials that manage to put gun rights before women’s rights.

I am offended that that the rights my generation worked so hard to have, have been taken away from my granddaughters.

It is time for all women and men who support restoring these rights to send a message on this radicalized agenda.

I sincerely hope you will join me and become energized in voting this extremist view out of office and out of our private lives.

Sheryll Strang, Winter Haven

Make the world better one person at a time

I wanted to share a positive experience I had in Polk County on July 18. I was traveling on East Main Street in Lakeland and turned down a side street to make a three-point turn to return to the main road and go west. Well, Florida right-of-ways can be very deceptive. The solid looking right of way I chose to turn around at was mush under grass. Yep, almost immediately I was stuck.

While waiting for assistance, a gentlemen stopped and offered to pull me out of the ditch I was stuck in. He went down the road to get his jeep and while he was gone another gentleman pulled up in a pick-up equipped with a strong strap. Working together the three of us got my car unstuck.

I really appreciate their help, especially as it was the end of the day and everyone was tired. These guys made my day just by stopping to assist. I just wanted to say, see? Not all is gloom and doom and despair, after all. There still are good people in the world doing good things. I have already paid it forward in another way.

Let's all help each other when we can. We can make the world a better place. One person at a time.

Coral Albert, Winter Haven

Gun rights are not ‘inalienable rights’

The Declaration of Independence affirms the ‘self-evident’ rights as ‘Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.’ It says these ‘inalienable rights’ have been given to all humans by their Creator, and that governments were created to protect them.

The Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blasé J. Cupich, reacted after a gunman attacked attendees at the Highland Park Independence Day parade. His words cut to the heart of the gun-violence crisis:

"The right to bear arms does not eclipse the right to life, or the right of all Americans to go about their lives free of the fear that they might be shredded by bullets at any moment. Gun violence is a life issue."

Cardinal Cupich is right. Loving our neighbors means no longer allowing angry, violent individuals to use weapons of war against our families, friends and communities. We do applaud the limited gun-safety bill that just passed Congress, but it's going to take more to make our communities peaceful and safe.

The mass shooting in Highland Park is not unique; families’ lives are torn apart daily by gun violence.

We need to demand stronger gun-safety laws now - including a ban on assault rifles. Our government was created to protect us; it is time for them to honor this duty.

Bernice S. Warren, Bartow

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This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Voice of the People: Guns have more rights than women