Dear editor:
Americans have the freedoms to vote and to bear arms. We have the freedom of speech and the press. Our homes cannot be searched without a warrant. We have the right to assemble and petition. We have freedom of religion and the right to worship God as we choose and even the right not to if that's our choice. No other country has been founded upon as many freedoms as the "United States of America."
Pope Francis praised the United States saying "America is the land of freedom and home of the brave." Unfortunately, rights that we should in no way abuse are being abused. Freedom of speech is abused when we intentionally tell falsehoods and half-truths about people and issues. It is the work of Congress to make sure our citizens are safe. They make the laws.
Our children cannot even go to school and feel safe. Parents in America should not have to feel fear as their children leave home in the morning. Our rights are abused when politicians make it difficult for us to exercise our right to vote. Freedom of religion is abused when atheists are demeaned for what they believe or when someone claims "my religion is right, yours is wrong" or when they disobey the law in the name of religion. The most serious threat to our freedom of religion is the religious activist intent upon intermixing their religion with their politics.
I'm angry with a Congress interested in not acting and achieving what is best for the country. In the hours following the latest incidence of gun violence I heard many respond -- "There is no way to prevent this" and "This stuff happens." America is the only developed nation where gun violence is an epidemic. When we alone have a crisis with gun violence, gun regulations need to be sensibly reformed. The Founding Fathers never anticipated we would abuse the freedoms they granted in the amendments to the Constitution.
Legislators do not act responsibly when they ignore the problem of continuing loss of life. I defend the right to own a gun, but when school children, movie goers and innocent people are slaughtered, reason calls for a sensible solution. It takes courage to find solutions and work through them. That is what it means to be brave.
Americans are experiencing concern and anxiety. Americans feel anxiety because so many are experiencing a sense of fear realizing the leaders who have been called to protect us are unable to do so. I find it offensive and I would hope all who read my letter would believe that it is unacceptable to just write off gun violence with -- "This stuff happens" and "There is no way to prevent this."
George Lindholm
Hot Springs
Editorial on 10/11/2015