Letters to the editor – Thursday – 5-19-16
Published 12:06 am Thursday, May 19, 2016
Columnist Gannon raises worthwhile views on HB2
The writer is responding to a column in Wednesday’s Post, “Other voices on HB2.”
Patrick Gannon’s column makes so many good points. Lots of innocent people are being discriminated against with the passage of HB2. And have you thought about how you are going to enforce it? Are you going to check each entrant into the bathroom of their choice to see what body part they sport down below?
I, myself, heartily agree with the groups Mr. Gannon cites who say that HB2 needs repeal — librarians, psychologists, etc. And look at the times individuals have been attacked recently just because someone thinks a female with, say short hair or seemingly masculine features, enters the women’s bathroom.
Sometimes I begin to think this world has gone completely mad, and ridiculous legislation like HB2 and the way so many people have reacted in support of it confirm that feeling.
And there are other parts of HB2 that are bad, too, like taking away other forms of protection in cases of discrimination. End discrimination, now.
— Pat Bullard
China Grove
Stances not representative
Patrick Gannon cites the American Library Association in his attempt to garner support for repeal of HB 2. This caught my eye, as I was a professional librarian for three decades.
Undoubtedly, many members of the American Library Association would support a repeal, and the so-called leaders tend to come from liberal metropolitan and academic libraries. But to say that each and every member of the ALA supports the repeal is at best disingenuous and at the worst deliberately deceptive. ALA membership is required by many public library and academic library systems, and the members include people of all religious, political and associative persuasions, people who chart their own course in non-library matters.
I would never presume to speak for another librarian, nor can any library association speak for me on social or political matters.
Full disclosure: I was a health sciences librarian, whose professional membership was in the Medical Library Association, not the American Libraries Association. In fact, it was the ALA administrators’ penchant to speak for all that prompted me not to join.
— Steve Owen
Kannapolis
Party like it’s 1968?
A friendly reminder to the Democratic Party: if you run Hillary, we’re voting Trump. See you at the convention (just like in ‘68).
— Jonathan Bost
China Grove