Jennifer Kiggans

Fitting memorial

Re “Forging consensus” (Our Views, May 13): I agree that Fort Monroe is an essential asset to this area and should be preserved for appropriate development and especially for its historic significance. In this regard, in May 1861, Major Gen. Benjamin Franklin Butler, the Union Commander of Fort Monroe, granted asylum to three escaped slaves who were seeking sanctuary. This was a pivotal moment of the Civil War which preceded and inspired Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

To properly recognize and honor this courageous act, I would suggest that the Mercury Boulevard bridge to Fort Monroe be renamed the Benjamin Butler Memorial Bridge. Butler was indeed a “bridge builder” of his time and this would be a fitting memorial to him.

Larry D. Gaskins, Williamsburg

Racist remarks

Re “Kiggans faces criticism after radio show host’s comments” (A2, May 13): Since he was elected in 2016, President Donald Trump has emboldened racists to speak and act without fear of consequences. U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans agreeing with a talk show host after he made a racist comment about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is unconscionable. I would hope our elected officials could recognize such speech. The fact that she did not call him out on it is telling.

Was she aware it was a racist remark? Was she laughing along because that’s the approved language of the current administration? She did not apologize to her colleague after learning how offensive it was. Instead, she deflected by spouting off another familiar Republican phrase about Democrats trying to rig elections.

Since the 2020 election the GOP has cultivated a plan to convince voters — through lies about the veracity of that election — that the Democrats are stealing elections. Judges all across the country are doing their best to apply the law to every legal challenge that seeks to suppress votes. These judges and their families’ lives are being threatened as a result.

There are a lot of people angry about the direction this country is going. It doesn’t help when officials use and condone offensive language. I hope the new congressional districts being drawn up by some state legislatures won’t matter. There are a lot of Republican voters who are fed up, too. Let’s all vote to bring back decency and respect.

Robin Kruger, Norfolk

Got it right

Democratic politicians and their constituents are up in arms after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the redistricting referendum unconstitutional. They say the court overturned the will of the people and call the decision undemocratic and unprecedented.

Is it undemocratic? Our government is not a pure democracy with simple majority rule unconstrained by a constitution.

Is it unprecedented? Here’s a few examples where courts have thrown out election results: In 1958, the Virginia Supreme Court invalidated an Arlington County referendum passed by voters that future bond referendums should be limited to property owners, according to Cardinal News. In 2000, California voters overwhelmingly passed California Proposition 22, which defined marriage between a man and a woman, 61% to 39% according to Ballotpedia. In 2008, California voters narrowly approved a state constitutional amendment, California Proposition 8, which prohibited same-sex marriage. Both referendums were ruled unconstitutional.

Some are asking why voting on the redistricting referendum was allowed to take place only to be overturned by the court. Virginia case precedent from 1912 (Scott v. James) says courts will not, with few exceptions, stop an election. Judicial review should occur after the vote, provided it has passed and been challenged.

The rule of law in a constitutional democracy is far more important than the will of the majority at any given moment. The Virginia Supreme Court got it right.

Joe Naneville, Windsor