Letter to the LHL Editor: Dear Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul ...

I decided my reply to McConnell's (staff) reply to my email wasn't enough - especially on the heels of seeing two local names I respect writing letters to the editor in our local paper.  

Thus, I, too, just wrote to McConnell AND Paul via the "Letters to the Editor" portion of our local newspaper.  

(I've only done this with our local newspaper once before, in 2015, and it was published, so who knows?  It might get in, it might not. Regardless, I feel better :)

Senators McConnell and Paul,  

I understand you feel you need to protect "religious freedom" and civil liberties.  However, I'm a Christian, and I didn't feel targeted in the least.  

Some of my fellow Christians chose to defy emergency public health/safety laws and were met with consequences, which were warned of in advance. 

I think we can all agree on the need for rules and laws to protect ourselves/others from harm - it's just we don't all agree on the definitions.  

Even as parents, we place restrictions to keep ourselves/others from harm, and warn of consequences if they aren't followed.  Children may think they're unfair or harsh - but they're safe.  Better they're "grounded" and mad, than COVID-19.   

Considering the main Republican argument for laws regarding "Muslim extremist terrorism," abortion, and LGBTQ has been "public protection," you'd think Republicans would agree, on this one - but they don't?  

Thus, it appears modern conservatives are "liberally" changing the definition of law.  It's not about public protection, it's about civil-liberty protection of just certain individuals - even if those liberties cause harm. 

I wish we could trust everyone to love their neighbors as themselves, valuing their health, safety, and civil liberties like their own - but we can't.  

If you don't want the government to regulate public protection, fine - but who will?  Private business and churches? 

Fine - then care to explain why, at the very least, you're not publicly encouraging them to provide PPE while engaging in their freedoms?

Chrystal Chaplow