The harsh, unflattering glare of the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing our country to take a long hard look at who we are. Not only is the pandemic illuminating the cracks in our healthcare system and our social safety net, but on top of the hateful and extreme rhetoric, and the lethal politicization of science and health policy by the GOP and its enablers, it shows us the dangers of leaving a person like Trump in charge during a crisis.
Words matter. What elected leaders say in a crisis matters. In times of division, we need leaders willing to heal, and to bring people together.
Yet in a "GOP View" article from 2013 written by Bob Hebert Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, he does exactly the opposite, defending George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012. Zimmerman ignored police directives to stop following the teen, and to this day has never faced justice for his actions. Yet Hebert writes that this 17-year-old kid, picking up Skittles at the 7-Eleven near his dad’s house, was “already on a losing path” and that Zimmerman’s life also “ended” that night. Maybe Hebert should talk to the family of a murder victim before equating their killing with the ongoing life of the person who pulled the trigger but didn’t face justice.
Our state has been a leader on gun safety measures since Sandy Hook changed our lives forever. We’ve passed laws to keep children away from guns and expanded our assault weapons ban. And our communities have been safer as a result. Meanwhile, Selectman Bob Hebert voted against a measure supporting “Gun Violence Awareness Day” and says he’s not sure he would have voted for a key gun safety measure after Sandy Hook.
We deserve better than this. We deserve a leader who will stand up for common-sense gun safety measures, not defend gun-toting domestic abusers just one year after the worst mass shooting in our state’s history.
Susan D. Cocco
Ridgefield, CT