US falls behind on women’s rights
Keep chaplains, religion out of classrooms
I was disappointed and surprised to read that the Florida Legislature passed a bill to allow chaplains in the public schools. I hope that the Sarasota County School Board will reject any such move for several reasons.
I believe this action is a clear violation of the Constitution as it relates to church-state separation. It does not pass the three-part “Lemon test” that the Supreme Court applies to issues involving the government and religion:
The government’s action must have a secular legislative purpose.
The government’s action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion.
The government’s action must not result in an excessive entanglement of government with religion.
If the Sarasota County School Board adopts this chaplain program, there will be significant and costly litigation.
Do they really want students to be under pressure to join religious clubs? Or to be counseled by a person whose faith will be the backdrop for any advice they may give?
The Sarasota County School Board should hire professional counselors, not pastors!
Don’t we have enough controversies going on within the School Board? Why add another one that is unnecessary?
Norman Olshansky, Sarasota
Transgressions should disqualify Trump
Too much attention has been paid to the legal proceedings against former President Donald Trump and not enough attention paid to his underlying misconduct in those cases. There is no serious dispute that:
He encouraged a mob to attack the Capitol in a violent effort to stop Congress from certifying the election.
He refused to accept the results of a valid election, even after he lost more than 60 court cases.
He leaned on state elective officials to “find” votes and to sign false certificates with bogus Trump electors in states he lost.
A jury found him liable for sexual abuse, and he has bragged about grabbing women by the private parts.
He authorized the payment of hush money to a porn star.
In addition, Trump has said that if he is elected, he will pardon all the Jan. 6 convicts.
Trump’s misconduct – and the virtual certainty that it will continue unchecked if he becomes president again – is a compelling reason for us all to reject his bid to return to power.
David J. Bradford, Sarasota
The world celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 with rallies for issues that affect women the world over.
On March 4, France made abortion rights part of the French constitution. However, in the U.S., the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, setting women’s rights back 50 years.
Since the court’s decision, the state of Alabama has interfered in in vitro fertilization and several states have passed highly restrictive abortion laws. Some states provided no provisions for rape or incest, forcing women wishing to terminate their unwanted pregnancy to travel hundreds of miles to a woman-friendly, compassionate state.
Any woman should be able to terminate her pregnancy at will in any state after counseling with her doctors and her conscience. She is the one that has to live with that decision, not the legislators or courts who decide for her.
To force a woman to carry a fetus to term is cruel and unusual punishment. President Joe Biden says he will codify abortion rights into law. Let’s make that happen. We women deserve better.
Elana Carnes, Venice
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR