Vote for change in Texas abortion restrictions, bounties

Is paying for rape, incest care relief?

Do we want more of Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton and Dan Patrick? This trio has had eight years to show Texans the kind of state they want. Centers providing women with reproductive health care were shut down throughout the state. A tacky policy of paying bounties to people who report on abortions was enacted.

In a recent debate, Beto O’Rourke expressed a desire to restore reproductive freedom. Abbott assured Texas women that if they are victims of rape or incest, Texas would pay for their care.

So, should Texas women stay home on Election Day and be grateful that if these horrible invasions of body happen to them, their daughters or granddaughters, it will not cost them a cent?

– Loveta Eastes, Fort Worth

How to stop unprotected sex

Abortion is not a joke, and it should not be taken lightly or used as an excuse not to have a baby. Making abortion illegal will protect innocent lives and drive people to have less unprotected sex. Help make the right decision for our world.

– Marisol Barron, Roanoke

AR-15s shattered Uvalde lives

Let me get this straight: Nicole Russell criticizes Beto O’Rourke because he wants to protect women’s reproductive rights, raise teachers’ pay, lower taxes and ban AR-15s. (Oct. 6, 11A, “Beto O’Rourke’s shtick worked in 2018 but has gotten tiresome”)

She asserts that Gov. Greg Abbott is judicious, factual and logical. I wish she’d explain why Abbott believes it’s logical to sell 18-year-olds assault rifles capable of shooting 45 bullets per minute.

Rifles designed to kill and bullets meant to twist inside the body, making them much more deadly than ordinary ammunition, were used against 19 children and two teachers in the Uvalde massacre, rendering the victims unrecognizable to their own families.

That’s why 35 grieving families from Uvalde are supporting O’Rourke. Abbott has done absolutely nothing to prevent an angry individual from buying a military-style assault rifle with extra-capacity magazines and murdering churchgoers, parade-watchers or a classroom full of children.

– Sharon Austry, Fort Worth

We are talking about lives

Ask the parents in Uvalde if Beto O’Rourke’s goal to ban AR-15s is a “shtick.” Ask a pregnant victim of rape or incest if his pro-choice position is “shtick.” Nicole Russell’s use of “shtick” to dismiss a candidate and any sane discussion of truly life-threatening issues exposes unquestioning bias.

– Mary Kelly, North Richland Hills

School vouchers would help all

Texas should embrace school vouchers. Give parents the choice of a quality education for their children. They can vote with their feet. New schools would attract vouchers, and good education would follow.

Picture a school with students eager to learn and teachers eager to teach. Problem students and problem teachers need not apply. And the best thing is that the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich would get the same benefit.

Level the playing field and provide real hope for parents.

– Frank Wagnon, Southlake

Honor a Fort Worth trailblazer

Rudy Eastman was a visionary in Fort Worth. He wrote plays about our struggles, about our kindness and about a better world. Eastman, who died in 2005, was a teacher at O.D. Wyatt High School and then founded Jubilee Theatre, the first African American theater in the southwestern United States.

Many actors and singers who got their starts under his tutelage have gone on to star on Broadway and in movies. His influence is felt today from California to Chicago to New York. He was a true pioneer and a great friend to artists and to the arts, lost to us way too soon.

A school, park, street or monument should be made or named in honor of this great Fort Worth icon. How can we make that a reality?

– Melinda Wood Allen, Fort Worth

Fear on college campuses

Gun laws in America make me feel unsafe on my college campus, and I think something should be done about it. In 2015, Texas enacted a law to allow the carrying of guns on campuses, and many people argue that it’s for self-defense. But guns do more harm than good.

My fellow students and I do not feel comfortable with the Idea that people other than the police are allowed to carry guns on campus. Safety should be of the utmost concern when it comes to students, and the right to concealed carry of firearms does not reflect that idea. Doing away with the current law would relieve many students’ anxiety and fears.

– Marie Niyonzima, Denton