Subscribe 300x250 - Love

 Letter to the Editor – Ashley Brimmage

by | Feb 22, 2018 | Opinion

In the wake of the massive spree killing in Parkland Florida, I decided to write my Congressman, John Ratcliffe, to ask if he could support any kind of common sense legislation that would possibly prevent such tragedies. In reply, I received some carefully worded boilerplate that read as if the NRA were telling him exactly what he needed to say. He “sympathizes” with those who have lost loved ones…followed by one giant BUT. “…I do not agree with limiting gun owners’ Second Amendment rights…”

 I believe the Founding Fathers penned the Second Amendment to provide law abiding citizens the freedom to protect their families’ lives and property. I would never be in favor of any legislation that takes away that basic right. Could it be possible, however, that the Founding Fathers were concerned with protecting the right of a mentally deranged teenager to legally own a rapid-fire killing machine whose sole purpose is to increase the body count in a video-game-style onslaught against innocent human beings? It sounds absurd doesn’t it? We live in a 21st century United States that couldn’t even be dreamt of in the 1780’s. It is time for our Congress to find a way to hold true to the spirit of the Second Amendment while enacting some common-sense  legislation regarding what kind of weaponry is legal to own and who should be legally qualified to own it. My Congressman has made it clear to me that he is far more beholden to the NRA than to his own constituency. How many more of these senseless tragedies will it take before our leaders decide to lead? We don’t celebrate forgotten “leaders” who were on the wrong side of history. No national holidays are dedicated to those who fought for the institution of slavery in the 1800’s because they “didn’t want to upset their base.” How refreshing would it be if just a handful of our GOP leaders would stand up, even risk losing an election, in order to get on the right side of history?

 Ashley Brimmage

Farmersville

Grad Profile Leaderboard

0 Comments

Related News

A hare much

A hare much

Columnist John Moore recalls the friends of his youth, including Harvey The Rabbit. Courtesy John Moore I never had more than one at a time, but I had stuffed animals.  Don’t all kids have a security blanket when they’re young? At first, I had a monkey who had a...

read more
President and accounted for

President and accounted for

Most of us can cite a handful of times when we knew that we were witnessing history.  Something unique. Something profound. A shift in the tectonic plates of society. So it was on January 20, 2025. There was a drawing for tickets to attend the presidential...

read more
Someone’s watching

Someone’s watching

While some in society have stopped wearing watches, columnist John Moore isn’t one of them. Courtesy John Moore  I noticed his Watch immediately. I usually notice watches immediately. But his was especially noticeable. It was a Rolex. I don’t own a Rolex, but one...

read more
Wild times picking blackberries

Wild times picking blackberries

Wild blackberries. Photo by Siala from Pixabay My father would load my sister and me into his ‘52 Chevy truck, and he’d steer down the gravel road leading to the homestead where my mom was raised. The radio played Loretta Lynn and Faron Young as the wind...

read more
Dream on

Dream on

I’m fairly certain my dreams have a drug dealer. What is it with dreams? Sleep is supposed to be an 8-hour window (mine’s never that long) when we rest, regenerate, and arise feeling as refreshed as the person in the Folger’s commercial who throws back the covers and...

read more
Dream On

Dream On

I’m fairly certain my dreams have a drug dealer. What is it with dreams? Sleep is supposed to be an 8-hour window (mine’s never that long) when we rest, regenerate, and arise feeling as refreshed as the person in the Folger’s commercial who throws back the covers and...

read more
Social Security Matters

Social Security Matters

Ask Rusty – Have I saved social security money by claiming at 62? Dear Rusty: I had to start collecting Social Security at 62, and I am 75 now. I believe that in the last 13 years I have saved Social Security money, so I do not know why I cannot draw my full benefits...

read more
What was in store

What was in store

John Moore continues to shop at mom and pop stores for may reasons stating where else do you get a free calendar every year? Courtesy John Moore When Wal Mart grew, warnings that it would put the mom-and-pop businesses under seemed to come true. Now, online businesses...

read more
A lot of class

A lot of class

In the movie “The Big Chill,” a group of old friends gather for the funeral of one of their own, and it turns into a reunion. Recently, a group of my old friends gathered for a reunion, and it turned into a gathering for a funeral. I got the call on the way to the...

read more
Picturing Grace

Picturing Grace

Print from John Moore’s personal collection. When I was a child, there was a painting that hung on my grandmother’s kitchen wall. It portrayed a man who was praying over a meal of bread and what appeared to be a bowl of soup. Near the man was a book, which I always...

read more
Subscribe 300x250 - Love