Mr. Van Dyke, thank you for so clearly exemplifying the hypocrisy of the GOP in your letter to the editor printed on March 7 in the BDC. You wrote, “People- please, think for yourselves and respect others’ rights to do the same.” Well, unless you are a woman who wants to access her right to a legal abortion or affordable health care. Oh, or an LGBTQ+ individual who pursues their right to transition. Or a person of color who recognizes the inherent racial biases that exist in our society and chooses to raise their voice in protest. Or someone who actually believes in scientific data and opposes the draconian wildlife bills looking to decimate Yellowstone’s wolf population.
This legislative session has to be one of the most aggressively anti-environment, anti-women, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-wildlife, and anti-voters’ rights I have ever seen in my 35 years in Montana. I’m not sure who voted these Republican representatives into office, but I ask that you keep track of the bills being introduced, and how your representatives are voting. Keep this in mind for the next election cycle.
The onslaught of bills attacking women’s healthcare rights is appalling. The hateful anti-LGBTQ+ rights bills being introduced are discriminatory. The careless dismissal of scientific research and knowledge around environmental and wildlife preservation will destroy our pristine surroundings and ultimately, our economy.
Mr. Van Dyke, I’m sorry, but your argument doesn’t hold any water. You may have a problem with the way the Chronicle is framing issues, and obviously found someone’s letter to the editor offensive. But you cannot deny that the Montana Republican legislators are selectively deciding who should have “rights” and who should not.
Betsy Danforth
Bozeman
Bozeman Daily Chronicle Letter to the Editor 3/16/21