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Ruling supports bigotry,
not religious freedom
Re: “School district violated religious freedom” (Page B1, Sept. 15).
A three-member appellate court has ruled it is constitutional for a religious club at a San Jose high school to discriminate against LGBTQ students based on the club’s religious belief, i.e. “That marriage must be between a man and a woman.”
This ruling has wrapped bigotry in a blanket of religious freedom. But, bigotry in any wrapping is bigotry. Discrimination against LGBTQ students has no place in a public school, and it is unconstitutional for a government entity to sponsor a religious belief that infringes on another’s liberty.
Sadly, attacks against the LGBTQ community are happening in the Santa Clara Valley. We have a duty to recognize and confront bigotry regardless of the vehicle it appropriates. Hopefully, the full appellate court will reverse this affront to democracy.
Bill Wallace
San Jose
Law will make schools,
communities safer
Re: “Why governor should sign gun violence prevention bill” (Page A6, Sept. 14).
Thank you for the opinion piece about AB 28 by Dr. Timothy Browder.
Like many other parents across the United States, I have lived with perpetual anxiety and stress for the past decade that my teenager may not be safe at school. Every time I hear about another school shooting, I feel so much despair it’s almost intolerable.
Please, let’s make it harder for school shootings to happen so that we can spare so many people deep sadness and grief. Gov. Gavin Newsom, thank you for signing this bill to help create safer schools and healthier communities.
Kazuho Ozawa
Mountain View
A little grace could
help college students
College students should be given more grace. I recognize that college isn’t necessarily supposed to be easy and that leniency isn’t always warranted or possible. However, I think sometimes it is overlooked that many students aren’t privileged enough to only go to school full time.
Many of us have jobs, and most, if not all, have other commitments both within and outside of school. And sometimes, life just happens. I believe that a little bit of compassion and understanding can go a long way. Whether it’s extending a due date or offering extra support, students recognize and appreciate those actions.
Noelle Nordin
Mountain View
Cutting Russia’s electricity
could end Ukraine war
To end the war in Ukraine in one week, bomb the electrical generating powerhouses and plants of Russian major cities.
Stopping the electricity stops the fresh water supply, the sewage system, the transportation systems and commerce. The populations will quickly descend into a squalid urban stone age, just as the Russians imposed upon the Ukrainians. But, not by killing people and children at malls, schools and churches. The Russian economy will decline and disenchant the Russians; ultra-rich and ultra-poor alike. Then millions of the Russian people will arise in protest to demand the return of their modern amenities.
Vladimir Putin will lose the Russian populace and lose his golden legacy. The Ukraine war will end in one week.
Leo Johnson
San Jose
Reparations violate
U.S. code of law
When it comes to reparations, most proponents fail to realize that the American code of law does not hold a person guilty or accountable for a crime committed by another person (or group).
Example: If a 19-year-old drives drunk, hits another car and injures someone, the injured party can sue the 19-year-old. But, the injured party cannot sue the 19-year-old’s parents. The parents are not responsible for the crime committed by their adult child. So if our code of law (and the U.S. Constitution) do not allow for an individual to be held liable for the crimes of another, why are we suddenly attaching guilt and responsibility for acts that were committed over 150 years ago by people that we have no connection to?
In America, groups don’t have rights. Rights and freedoms are held only by the individual.
Pete Campbell
San Jose
Source: www.mercurynews.com