In response to the article, “Area lawmakers press immigrant-protection bill,” I fear voters have unwittingly voted out the checks and balances in our government. The House, Senate and courts are all Democrat liberal, progressive or socialist. I am not sure what they want to call themselves today. I am sure there aren’t any fiscally conservative members.
Currently, the Republican Party is dead in Massachusetts. The Democrat Party rules and when it comes to important issues, like this one or late-term abortion, Democrats simply pass a bill rather than put it on the ballot and avoid the chance of failure.
A perfect example was the welcoming ordinance that Easthampton passed. It could have easily been put on the ballot. The outcome would have be accepted, but the council either felt it might not pass or simply didn’t care and used their power to pass it, ignoring the hundreds of signatures that were opposed to it.
State legislators are now planning a Safe Communities Act. There is little difference between a sanctuary city, safe communities and welcoming city. Sanctuary city is just a different name. They have no plan to help these people become citizens, only create a new lower class. Do you ever hear them talk about making employers that hire them sponsor them?
I am not sure why they want to go against federal law, but it certainly isn’t to make the community safer for citizens or law enforcement. Protecting convicted illegal alien felons is not logical and destroys the rule of law.
I feel sad for the citizens that have been victims of crimes by illegal aliens and even sadder for the law enforcement officers that could easily and safely do their jobs removing the criminal aliens at the courthouse or a local lock up. Instead, the Democrats want to just let them go. That makes it extremely dangerous for law enforcement to catch them later. It is illogical and fiscally irresponsible what the Democrats want to do.
I hope the Safe Communities Act is put on the ballot. I would ask my state representative to do that, but I fear I would just be wasting my time, knowing that he sponsored the late-term abortion bill that I also feel should have been on the ballot. I personally don’t feel my city and state representatives speak for me at all.
The Democrats, whether city, state or federal, all seem to hate the president and won’t stop until they have complete control. They certainly aren’t working for the citizens. Just look at all the new taxes. A marijuana tax of 17%, a lodging tax of 11.7 %, a vaping tax of 75%, and now they are talking a mileage tax to replace the gas tax. It is interesting how far we have come from the days when citizens were up in arms over a measly 3% tax on tea in 1773.
I think the only alternative to this one-party system is to govern by ballot questions. Hopefully, on the local level, there will be many ballot questions the next election. Nothing might change, but it will be more palatable knowing the subjects are voted on by the whole community rather than having it dictated by a few.
Donald Torrey
Easthampton