Due process is another freedom to value
The right to bear arms and the right to due process are both guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Yet some of the strongest defenders of gun rights now support efforts that undermine due process — the very safeguard meant to protect us from government abuse.
Due process ensures that no one can be deprived of life, liberty or property without fair procedures: the right to be notified of charges, to present a defense and to be heard by an impartial court. Without these protections, constitutional rights become meaningless.
The irony is striking. Many advocate for gun rights out of fear of government overreach, yet dismiss the very legal process designed to prevent it. A gun may symbolize freedom, but it cannot protect you if the government no longer follows the law.
Once due process is denied to one group, it can be denied to anyone. That’s not alarmism — that’s history.
You don’t have to be “woke” to see this. You just need to be awake.
If we truly value freedom, we must defend due process with the same urgency as the Second Amendment. Because without it, no right is safe.
JEFFREY J. COHEN, MARIETTA
Decline in medical research is devastating
Medical research at universities and federal agencies has been decimated. After a difficult breast cancer surgery and treatment in 1967, my mother suffered from debilitating lymphedema. In 2000, an Emory University study in sentinel node biopsies saved me from that fate. Since then, research on all cancers has exploded. Medical knowledge is one of the fundamental benefits of being an American today.
However, recent articles by The New York Times (“The Disappearing Funds,” June 4) and ProPublica (“Shattered Science,” June 12) detail the cancellation or delay of hundreds of studies by our current administration. How many people will suffer and die because research has been halted in the field in which they need help?
America is giving up leadership in medical research as scientists, students and entrepreneurs in medicine look to other countries to continue their work. I am horrified, saddened and devastated. I beg Congress to stop this carnage.
SALLY ROSS, ATHENS
Okefenokee Joe made us all ‘swamp wise’
Many people and groups are claiming credit for saving the Okefenokee Swamp. However, one name seems to be missing from the discussion.
Somewhere in the swamp, either at Okefenokee Swamp Park or at Stephen Foster State Park, there should be a statue of the late Richard Flood. Also known as “Okefenokee Joe,” he educated thousands of young students regarding the true value of the swamp and the animals who live there. He made being “swamp wise” a necessary trait.
My 40-plus adult daughter can still sing from memory the song “Okefenokee Georgia Population Three.”
JIM WILLIAMS, WINTERVILLE
Social media can corrupt young minds
Regarding the AJC article from June 28, “Judge: Georgia can’t make social media sites ban kids,” the writers of our Constitution and the First Amendment did not foresee the damage caused by the medium. Our children are growing up corrupted by those who are willing to profit from an evil influence on minds that are easily manipulated.
The writers were not aware that adult minds would accept a substitute for reality and become vessels for the thoughts of those mentally disabled.
Social media is a disease.
JACK FRANKLIN, CONYERS
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