Letters to the Editor

The police have to enforce the law

Dear Editor, I have written once before about the city of Sallisaw. I asked the cops to step up patrols on our streets. Every day I see cars, trucks and motorcycles speeding down the city streets. Even every day, a guy on a mini bike is speeding down our street. I never see these lazy cops doing anything to stop it or even give out tickets.

Last school year a school bus kept running the stop sign and he had children on board. He went straight through the stop sign and was almost broadsided by a speeding car. My little 5-year-old grandson lives with me and sometimes crosses the street to play, I am so afraid that some complete idiot will one day run him down.

We have a police department that hides in the station and never does any patrols. They are more than willing to come out if someone is running drugs down 40, they even come out for illegals.

I had problems one time and I called them. I was being followed by two guys in a van, the cop came out and blew me off, saying “if you come up dead or missing, let us know;” These cops need to start working for the people, I‚ve had some who were rude and condescending. If they are not willing to do their jobs then get someone who will.

They always holler officer safety, to me they are complete cowards. If a school was being shot up here they would run and hide. It‚s time to address the issues.

We have to totally defund the police and force them to be mental health evaluated and stop all qualified immunity to make them responsible for the stuff they do.

I experience hate in this town every day. I am a member of the LGBTQ plus community. This city has to change, it will never grow as long as we have all the crap that people are getting away with. So when you‚re speeding down the streets, stop and think about if a child walks out in front of me. The police have to enforce the law, speak up and tell them to patrol our streets and protect us.

Thank you,

MEGAN BROWN, SALLISAW

Pro-life and abortion

Dear Editor, Oklahoma ranks 40th nationally in child well-being and in the bottom half of nearly all the health and well-being metrics included in state rankings for the 2022 KIDS COUNT Data Book, a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how children and families are faring.

The percentage of Oklahoma children who live in poverty is 21percent. Oklahoma ranks 32nd in economic well-being, 45th in education, 42nd in health and 41st in family and community. One in eight Oklahoma children between ages three to 17 have anxiety or depression in 2020, conditions that amount to a youth mental health pandemic. Oklahoma has the nation‚s third highest infant mortality rate (deaths) behind Mississippi and Louisiana.

Our U.S. Senator voted against travel for abortion care and in 2010 said he believes that a 13-year-old can consent to sex. A 10-year-old rape victim had to travel to a different state to get a safe abortion. A 10-year-old mother sounds like child abuse. A woman bled for more than 10 days from an incomplete miscarriage after emergency room staff would not remove the fetal tissue resulting in a life-threatening condition for the woman. Should women receive prenatal/ healthcare and should the child have day care, head start, school lunch, food stamps, or welfare? What about maternal leave after the child is born?

One of our U.S. Republican Congressman said that getting a vaccine is personal and no else‚s business even with over one million deaths during a pandemic writing that the government should never come between a doctor and a patient when making a medical decision.

The Republicans profess to be the party of small government but is anything more intrusive than the government getting into abortion/health care which should be between a woman, her doctor and her god/God. I keep hearing our reps saying “I believe” which may not be everyone‚s belief. USA Today/Ipsos Poll finds that Americans overwhelmingly would like to be able to vote on an abortion measure on their state ballot. Given the chance, they would oppose efforts to ban the procedure by almost 2-1. Seven in 10 say they would support using a ballot measure to decide abortion rights in their state, an idea backed across party lines, by 73 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of independents. Nine percent of those surveyed said abortion should be illegal, 16 percent of Republicans.

How about a state ballot? Perhaps our elected officials do not represent the majority but their own minority beliefs. Compassion is the basis of morality (Albert Schopenhauer). Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12) The number one Commandment from Jesus is to love others. How is controlling and demonizing women showing love or compassion?

Save the fetus, ignore the woman and abandon the child sounds like “pro-birth” as opposed to “pro-life.”

DONNA FULLER, MULDROW