There should be no requirements before we enjoy our freedoms
Re: “Semiautomatic weapons: Gun-control law signed,” April 11 news story
Lawmakers who took the oath to protect the Constitution, pictured on the front page Friday, lied. The law will be overturned, like similar laws in other states were, at a great loss of the state’s treasure.
In the United States, no one needs to prove they are qualified to express their rights guaranteed by the Constitution. We should all study civics to understand that, but we should not have to pay or be forced to do so before enjoying our rights.
Jack Monturi, Wheat Ridge
Who will be left to speak for us?
It’s 2026. You attend a protest and you’re caught up in a sweep and jailed. You make bail, but you’re saddled with imaginary charges and ordered to court in a couple of months to defend yourself. You look for a lawyer to assist, but none will take your case, leaving you to face the full power of the government in a completely unfamiliar arena.
Does it seem unlikely you can’t find a defense lawyer? That’s exactly what the Trump administration is trying to orchestrate right now. The attacks on large law firms for representing perceived enemies of the administration or having hiring practices the administration doesn’t like have been well-publicized.
On April 6, Michigan attorney and U.S. citizen Amir Makled was pulled aside at the Detroit airport by federal agents as he returned with his family from a vacation in the Dominican Republic. During the 90-minute interrogation, the agents demanded Makled’s cell phone, but he refused. Ultimately, he was released after the agents viewed his contacts list. Makled’s apparent infraction: representing a pro-Palestinian protestor who had been arrested at the University of Michigan.
The Trump administration is attacking lawyers because it knows that if it can scare lawyers away from taking cases against the administration, one more restraint on Donald Trump’s power will fall away. If you think these attacks on lawyers won’t affect you because you’re not a lawyer, think again. Where are our congressional representatives in standing up to this unconstitutional abuse of power?
Geoffrey P. Anderson, Denver
We can reform immigration policy without sacrificing our humanity
As a Christian pastor committed to following Jesus, who was himself a Jewish rabbi committed to following Jewish practices of welcoming the stranger and caring for the foreigner, it is not optional for me to care for people who make their way to the United States.
But I feel like folks like me often get written off as some kind of religious fanatic, unaware of the complicated difficulties our current immigration policies have on immigrants and communities alike.
I signed the Colorado Faith Leader Public Statement: Truths About Immigration because it is both a declaration of shared spiritual conviction to care for immigrants and a list of facts in support of the dignity and humanity of them. I can be for humane and effective immigration policy reform and prioritize the care of beloved human beings who arrive on this soil.
Disagreement with policy is not an excuse to demonize, ignore, or harm immigrants. Whatever work we need to do to create just laws must start and end with the protection of the sacred dignity of all people.
Rachael McClair, Denver
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