March 28, 2024

Letter to the Editor: More thoughts

It would appear that we have a debate going about our representative Dunwell. I have read Doug Cupples’s letter which presumably is a response to my Thoughts for Dunwell.

Rep. Dunwell is portrayed as a generous, wise, diligent, humble, compassionate, moral person, and a teacher, trainer, and pastor. These are all good qualities in a human being and there should be more like our representative for the reasons stated. However, Mr. Cupples’ letter is non-responsive. The legislation to which Mr. Cupples’ points admits to Dunwell’s deficiencies. Our current legislature has little if any concern about the well-being of the already born other than those who really don’t have to worry about their daily food supply or whether their car will get them to work or whether the cops will stop them and take them to jail because they are driving across town to the grocery store without a driver’s license.

There are people in this city, county and state who actually need some assistance. Their life is miserable, stressful and incomplete in many ways. I know these things because I deal with them on a daily basis. These are the people who you see in court on Wednesday mornings for court service day who have been charged with driving without a license, no insurance, broken tail lights, driving after 10 p.m. in Newton, public intox, possession of marijuana, domestic assault, driving while intoxicated. You do not see the people that Dunwell’s legislation helps. Lowering taxes, eliminating taxes on retirement income or a 3.9 percent flat tax does not assist the majority of the people in Dunwell’s district, especially those who actually need it.

Being concerned with the unborn and the right to have a gun does not cut it. The concern for the unborn is simply a made-up issue to get people worked up. It affects them not. Guns on the other hand do affect us. Once again, the whole nonsense about having the right to arm yourself against the incoming horde of Taliban or democrats is, in fact, dangerous. If one were to read anything, one would be aware that people are getting killed by other people who decide to buy the most powerful guns possible and go on a shooting spree. Guns actually affect other people, and hence, is a legitimate concern of any legislative body and should be considered in a rational manner, which to date, it has not been.

Rep. Dunwell is truly representative of our current legislature. He fits right in.

Richard E H Phelps

Mingo