7/3 Letters: North Carolina General Assembly ‘models bullying’

As educators, parents, clergy and other concerned people work diligently to help young people oppose bullying in all forms, the North Carolina General Assembly continues to model bullying.

Attorney General Stein’s budget was slashed and he will have to lay off employees. (Thought we were adding jobs, not doing away with them.) And apparently since they couldn’t defeat Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who has served the state well for many years, they will just try to impeach her. Let’s cut the bullying by the General Assembly and actually work for the people and the children of North Carolina.

Stop Gerrymandering

An oft-cited reason that the US Supreme Court has never ruled against political gerrymandering is that the courts did not want to get involved in the messy business of partisan politics. But as “GOP wants new election maps for NC judges and prosecutors” (June 27) highlights, partisan politics has begun messing with the courts.

First the North Carolina General Assembly made judicial elections partisan, and now it wants to redraw the districts to take full political advantage. In the fall, the US Supreme Court will hear a case involving gerrymandering in Wisconsin. Although our GA’s actions are not directly part of that case, the justices should look to North Carolina to see how far politicians can take the power of gerrymandering. The founders set up the courts as a means to check and balance the power of legislators. The courts need to take action now to stop gerrymandering in all its forms and make sure they remain an independent pillar of government.

‘Right to life’ beyond birth

I appreciated the op-ed “Block Medicaid Cuts that would Hurt Ill Children” (June 27). As past a president of the N.C. Pediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the author clearly speaks from an informed and empathic perspective about the disastrous effects the AHCA would have on survival rates of congenitally ill children. It is clear by now that both the House and Senate versions of this “wealthcare” plan would condemn millions of uninsured Americans, many of them children, to premature death due to lack of proper medical treatment.

I am therefore puzzled by the fact that there has been no public outcry coming from the self-described “right to life” crowd. If, as they profess, they are wholly devoted to protecting the sanctity of life, why are they not taking to the streets and the media in resistance to this deadly legislation? Are people to conclude that the right to life ends at the moment of delivery?

This story was originally published July 2, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "7/3 Letters: North Carolina General Assembly ‘models bullying’."