I thought my fellow Republicans learned this lesson: Missourians deserve petition power | Opinion

People’s power

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, when I served as a senator in the Missouri General Assembly, my fellow Republican legislators and I understood the importance of the citizen initiative process and the need to defend it.

During my final term in the Missouri Senate, Democratic lawmakers tried to gut the petition process in retaliation for Republicans using it to pass the Hancock Amendment. Gov. John Ashcroft, with support from fellow Republicans, vetoed these attacks, saying the General Assembly “should be reluctant to enact legislation which places any impediments on the initiative power.”

With more than 20 bills filed this session — all by Republicans — seeking to block state residents from using the petition process, it seems members of the majority party have switched their position entirely, opting to follow the Democrats’ lead instead of the former governor’s.

The citizen initiative process is a sacred and trusted constitutional right that Missourians have freely exercised for more than a century. It gives voters the freedom to determine the laws that govern us and serves as a fundamental check and balance on the legislature. Republicans should reject these legislative attempts to regulate the people’s right to take action.

- Bob Johnson, Lee’s Summit

Why anti-DEI

Who’s really fighting against discrimination?

Not the Missouri General Assembly, according to The Kansas City Star’s editorial board. It criticizes legislators for trying to prohibit public colleges and universities from requiring diversity, equity and inclusion statements from faculty and students. But the opposite is true. Lawmakers are trying to ensure that Missouri’s higher education system is free from racial discrimination and treats everyone equally.

I say this as someone who testified in favor of the legislation. DEI statements are used by activists to promote uniformity of thought, and DEI itself is grounded in the idea that people of different races should be treated differently. DEI is frequently used to justify preferential treatment for minorities while accusing all white people of being inherently biased. This is not fair. This is not equal. And this holds back continued progress toward our national promise.

My organization is focused on getting DEI out of medical schools, because discrimination there threatens the excellence of the medical profession and the health of patients. Ultimately, discrimination has no place in higher education, or anywhere else. The General Assembly should be applauded for supporting equal treatment for all — not political favoritism for some.

- Stanley Goldfarb, Chairman, 501(c)(3) nonprofit Do No Harm, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

Represent us

I totally agree with The Star’s March 21 editorial “Hawley and Schmitt put Trump above rule of law.” (7A) We need to hold our elected representatives’ feet to the fire and question why they would continue to support Donald Trump when they have heard, from his own mouth, the phone call to Georgia election officials demanding they “find” him 11,870 votes. We also know he watched the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, and did nothing but stand and grin, watching rioters storm the U.S. Capitol.

I realize a person is innocent until proved guilty, but from what we have seen, the evidence is pretty compelling.

As a resident of Missouri, I don’t want this type of representation in Congress. Our representatives, many of whom are attorneys, should abide by the rule of law and uphold the Constitution. I’m not seeing that, and I’m certain other Missourians aren’t either.

We need to elect people with integrity who will govern by the law, not because they are Republicans or Democrats. That would be a pleasant change.

- Pam Wishon, Independence

An awful mess

With basketball tournaments and now the NFL Draft coming up, it’s seems embarrassing that the city doesn’t seem to be trimming, mowing or cleaning the downtown loop at all. Weeds, unmowed grass and large amounts of trash are a year-round problem.

What an embarrassment, especially to for first-time visitors to Kansas City. Surely someone in the Public Works Department can prioritize this.

- Dan Herring, Prairie Village