Letters to the Editor: Rohrabacher’s allegiance to the NRA is just another reason not to vote for him

As a country we seem to stagger from one shooting to the next, from Sandy Hook, Conn., to Santa Fe, Texas, all the while roughly 96 Americans die every day from guns, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) has made it sickeningly clear that he is not willing to do anything. Like too many politicians in Washington, he prioritizes National Rifle Assn. donations over dead American children. Nothing will change until we elect politicians who are pledging to do something to turn the tide of gun violence.

That’s why I’m voting for Harley Rouda in the 48th Congrssional District. He has made common-sense gun laws a cornerstone of his campaign. While respecting the 2nd Amendment, Rouda supports laws that will reduce the gun violence epidemic we face today.

Rouda supports banning military-style assault weapons and bump stocks, both of which were used to massacre dozens in recent months. He supports expanding background checks to encompass all gun sales, as well as closing loopholes that allow dangerous criminals, such as convicted domestic violence abusers, from purchasing guns. Rouda also wants to find a solution for this epidemic by funding the CDC to research gun violence.

All in all, these are common sense steps that many Americans support. We now need a representative who will actually vote as the American people demand. Rouda will support our call for common sense gun laws.

Erin Spivey

Huntington Beach

Rohrabacher fails the LGBTQ community

I read the op-ed piece by Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel endorsing Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) with a combination of alarm and disgust (“Dana Rohrabacher’s conservative track record is as consistent as it is long”).

Although I live in his district, Rohrabacher does not represent me, a gay man, in Congress. He admitted recently that he supports allowing housing discrimination against gay and lesbian people, referring to the beliefs of “fundamentalist Christians” and their view of “lifestyles,” with which he concurs.

Yes, what would Jesus do?

For the record, wearing Bermuda shorts is a lifestyle. Yachting is a lifestyle. Being on the government payroll for more than 30 years with nothing contributed to his district and no meaningful accomplishments is a lifestyle. A person who is LGBTQ is not living a lifestyle; we are living a life.

Thomas J. Peterson

Newport Beach

Keirstead is the best choice for Congress

Is it now “politics as usual,” that candidates and their proxies have to slime each other? As a District 48 voter and constituent, I am dismayed to watch as issues of real importance are thrown out the window in favor of emotional digressions.

It is on the basis of issues of real importance that I have chosen to support Dr. Hans Keirstead in his bid to represent Democratic values in the November election. I made this decision only after a long period of observation and consideration of all the Democratic candidates and a conviction that Keirstead is the best rival for the incumbent Republican in the fall.

Having met Keirstead, and having had the opportunity to ask him questions, I find him both personable and intellectually impressive. As a successful, respected and experienced scientist, he brings a mind trained in the empirical method of coming to conclusions only after careful accumulation of factual information and consideration of outcomes.

As a medical professional, he is dedicated to the improvement of our health care system and the affordable availability of medications for all Americans. This, as I understand it, is his first priority. He applies the same scientific logic to his thoughts on climate change, the protection of our planet and our food supply. On social issues, he expresses his belief in racial equality, justice and the welfare of the neediest among us. These positions reflect my own priorities.

Peter Clothier

Laguna Beach

Rouda is the better candidate in District 48

Wow, an entire page of Friday’s paper devoted to opinion pieces about Scott Baugh and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. We do have a better choice — Harley Rouda. He supports responsible gun control measures, equal rights for women (including controlling their own body) and affordable health care for all.

He will fight for clean energy and against offshore oil drilling, support comprehensive immigration reform and the rights of the LGBTQ community and work to end Citizens United.

Please take a look at the issues page on his website and decide who you’d rather have fighting for you. We already know it’s not Rohrabacher, who doesn’t believe in climate change, voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and has a 93% from the NRA.

He’s been in office for 30 years and hasn’t accomplished much of anything. Time for a change.

Michele Burgess

Huntington Beach

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