Be an informed voter
There are several contested primary races from the Republican Senate race to the Boulder area state house seat to replace Dickey Lee Hullinghorst.
If you are one of the thousands of people who waited for hours to get into your caucus in March, then you will love that our primary is vote-by-mail and there are no lines!
As you figure out who to vote for, there is a new comprehensive, online voting guide called BallotReady that is personal, easy and accessible. By entering your zip code, it provides an example of your ballot and research with four kinds of information on the candidates — experience, endorsements, issues and news. A one-stop shop to being an informed voter.
If you were inspired to come out and wait for hours in the March caucus, I hope you will make sure you received a ballot. If not, there is still time to get one. Take a few minutes to learn about the candidates, make an informed choice and submit your ballot.
If you want to avoid any more lines, make sure it is in the mail with a stamp by Friday, June 24th. To learn about the candidates go to ballotready.org.
Vicki Simarano/Boulder
Rolling craps
Seven is not always a lucky number. On June 7th, the Boulder City Council voted 7 to 2 for the West “Dis-connector” trail. It will bisect the North Foothills Habitat Conservation Area (HCA). In voting against the West Dis-connector, Lisa Morzel and Mary Young voted for the HCA and the plants and animals that live there. Thank you Lisa and Mary.
Kristen Marshall/Boulder
MOMS do not respect the First Amendment
On June 2, 2016, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (MOMS) held rallies in Lafayette and Denver in support of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
However, MOMS are ineffective and have failed to change the dialogue or status quo of 32,514 Americans dying every year from gun violence; 11, 294 murders and 19,992 suicides, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Unfortunately, during the rally in Lafayette, a 72-year-old women who had taken the bus from Boulder in order to be at the rally was turned away by MOMS in violation of her rights under the First Amendment because she was carrying a “Repeal the Second Amendment” sign.
She was told not to carry her sign because it was not the message that MOMS wants to convey. A review of the MOMS website reveals that they are “fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment.” That statement is both paradoxical and obtuse and, evidently, MOMS respect the Second Amendment more than the First Amendment.
MOMS have attempted to censor speech and intimidate witnesses who wished to testify before the legislature against various bills attempting to expand gun rights. The reasoning behind MOMS attempts at censorship is because they say that they want to keep the dialogue “classy” and civil in order to not alienate the gun lobby. The time for “classy” and civil discourse with the gun lobby is over because too many Americans are dying every day because of easy access to guns.
MOMS fails to understand that the gun lobby does not respect them and sees their non-confrontational stance as a sign of weakness. Perhaps, MOMS should worry about alienating potential members and trampling upon people’s rights under the First Amendment instead of worrying about alienating the gun lobby.
Andrew J. O’Connor/Lafayette
Honestly, the whole gun control group doesnt have much respect for the bill of rights, and that is what makes them wrong. But besides that, the moms were smart to prevent this woman from associating her message with the moms, stupid messages like that DO make the moms platform weaker. A solution to gun control will require liberals and republicans to make concessions, but no republican will make these if the gun control side is ultimately looking to get rid of the second amendment. The only way forward on gun control is to admit that the 2nd amendment is not going away anytime soon.
Republicans are firmly in the grip of America’s fanatical gun cult. They won’t make concessions under any circumstances.