To the editor:
The decision by the Des Moines Register to eliminate the public’s response to the issues of the day seems autocratic. One of their stated reasons was that they only wanted authorities on a particular topic printed on the editorial page.
Does that mean their editorial staff will stop editorializing?
This afternoon the Iowa Senate passed out of subcommittee to the full committee a bill that would decriminalize victims of sex trafficking. My niece wrote the original bill and submitted it to the Iowa House where it passed. She had no intimate knowledge, but she did her research.
Today I watched Zoom on the Iowa Senate subcommittee discussion, and Sen. Janet Petersen said that she would vote it out of subcommittee to the full committee.
However, Petersen was concerned that a young person who had been trafficked might afterward be sent to a foster care home that was not equipped to handle them. She said she wanted a safe house like the Girls’ Juvenile Home, which has had been closed by the state, so that trafficking victims could receive treatment.
The public needs to have input on how their tax dollars are spent. By eliminating the opinions in the Register of everyday Iowa citizens, the Register is contributing to the trend of keeping dissenting opinions quiet.
We do not live in a dictatorship in which the press is controlled by the rich autocrats. All sides of an issue need to be explored for better understanding.
Julie Stewart Ziesman
Waukee
Wow! After not printing letters to the editor for three days, the Des Moines Register suddenly started printing them again. Evidently enough readers complained that they reversed their decision.
First, thanks to the writer’s niece for drafting an excellent bill. Not having a recognized name or impressive title does not mean the contents of a letter to the editor is without merit. I have read many informative and thought-provoking letters from “just plain folks.”
Your comments would be helpful if you sent them to the Register. The Des Moines Register is only printing Letters to the Editor on Thursdays and Sundays.