Why NC GOP must end its misguided efforts to block Leandro school funding

Leandro case

“What to know about NC’s historic school funding dispute,” (Nov. 11) was lucid, informative and a shocking display of political dereliction of duty.

Yet, it was a joy to learn that little Robb Leandro of 1994 is now lawyer Robb Leandro.

But how many children have not become their best because lawmakers chose not to enact the N.C. constitutional mandate to guarantee every child a sound basic education? That is a right we might well be proud of, if only the Republican-controlled General Assembly would join the Democrats and Gov. Roy Cooper to do the right thing.

They should not waste time — and our children’s lives — in fruitless and misguided litigation. They should invest the large budget surplus in the future generation and end the harms of the past.

Nancy Milio, Chapel Hill

Mayor Baldwin

Regarding “Protesters target Raleigh mayor’s campaign kickoff,” (Nov. 11):

Raleigh could have moved its election to March 2022 like other municipalities in North Carolina and maintained a requirement for a majority election with possible runoffs, still allowing Raleigh citizens to vote as soon as possible.

There is never a valid reason to delay an election even one day more than is necessary, certainly not an additional eight months.

Despite Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin’s claim that Raleigh could not redraw electoral districts in time for a March election, Charlotte did exactly that and proved Baldwin’s assertion wrong. But she is not interested in the possibility of dealing with a runoff since she only got 38% of the vote in the 2019 election.

Tim Niles, Raleigh

Rural health

North Carolina is experiencing a rural health crisis. Seven rural hospitals have shut down completely since 2005, and 19 more are considered at risk of closure.

Those numbers represent more than a third of all the rural hospitals in our state. Imagine if one-third of all urban and suburban hospitals were at risk of closing — every level of government would scramble to find a solution.

Given the high stakes, you might expect our U.S. senators to be deeply involved in this issue, but neither Richard Burr nor Thom Tillis participates in the Senate Rural Health Caucus, a bipartisan group of senators working to find solutions.

It’s rare to find Bernie Sanders and Mitch McConnell at the same table, but both are members of the Rural Health Caucus because the issue matters to voters in their state. Don’t the people of NC deserve to have a voice (or two) at that table? With National Rural Health Day coming up on Nov. 18, we call on our senators to join the caucus.

Joann Anderson

Dawn Carter

Anderson is outgoing CEO of UNC Health Southeastern in Lumberton. Carter is co-founder of Rural Healthcare Initiative.

Gun control

Regarding “Expand court for better gun control,” (Nov. 10 NC Voices/Opinion):

I disagree that the U.S. Supreme Court is radicalized and do not think it should be packed to get better gun control.

The wording of the Second Amendment is clear. It was never intended to allow people to take up arms against the government, but it does protect the public against a tyrannical government, foreign or domestic.

If people think the Second Amendment needs to be changed, they should change it in Congress, according to established rules and protocols. There is no justification to restructure the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to legislate from the bench.

Eric Hinesley, Raleigh

Gun deaths

Regarding “Durham, guns,” (Nov. 9 Forum):

The problem is not so much one of illegal guns. It is guns — period.

Our society is saturated with guns. Years ago I compared gun deaths in the U.S. with Great Britain, and adjusting for population I found the U.S. gun death rate was 80 times higher.

Despite this, some state legislators are busy removing regulations on the sale and carry of guns. At the behest of the gun lobby, some in Congress torpedoed Biden’s nomination to lead the ATF, arguing that he was too “extreme.”

The rest of us are asleep as radical conservatives on the Supreme Court proceed to “legislate” gun regulation out of existence. Recent comments from Supreme Court justices regarding the N.Y. gun case are troubling.

We Americans have lost our capacity for outrage at the number of gun deaths. We have normalized preventable human slaughter.

Randolph Rodgers, Raleigh

Voting rights

In 2006, 192 House Republicans voted to renew the Voting Rights Act. But in 2021, we can’t get a single GOP senator to come out and unequivocally support protecting the freedom to vote for the American people.

Senate Republicans have blocked two voting rights bills in the U.S. Senate. That should tell you everything you need to know about our hopes for passing voting rights legislation without abolishing the filibuster.

It’s time for President Biden to recognize this reality and use the power of his office to demand the Senate abolish the filibuster. Supporting voting rights legislation alone is simply not enough. Biden must put the freedom to vote of the American people ahead of any reservations he has about abolishing the filibuster. The stakes are too high and we need his leadership.

Bill Gartland, Chapel Hill