Letters to the editor Nov. 22
Adoption laws
In his letter to the Inter Lake on Nov. 14, John Lavin says, “… we can all sign up for foster care to help our Montana children. At last count, there were over 300 kids who need a home in our state.”
That number would be much lower if we could persuade our state legislators and the governor to simplify Montana’s adoption laws.
The U.S. Adoption Network says the number of requests for adoptions greatly exceed the number of abortions! Those terminated babies were discarded by their birth parents, but there are couples available who desperately wanted them.
In Montana, adoption is a long process wrapped in complicated legal procedures. It’s a mess with no time limit. By contrast, when a woman wants an abortion, it’s walk in, stagger out, and she’s done. Another life in development has been snuffed out.
Get on the internet and locate your Montana state representative and senator. Write and ask them (nicely, of course!) to help women with unwanted pregnancies carry to full term and let those new lives be adopted quickly and efficiently. The sheer volume of applications says the adoption system desperately needs an overhaul.
— Dale P. Ferguson, Polson
Bravo!
I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural performance by the Glacier Symphony and Chorale at the new Wachholz College Center at FVCC last night. Glacier Bank generously sponsored tickets for many local high school and middle school music students. The students’ behavior was impressively mature. They listened attentively and applauded appropriately. I saw no use of cell phones, nor any private chitchat during the performances. Their teachers, parents, and family should be proud.
The Wachholz Center is a very lovely performance space. The Flathead community is fortunate to have such a venue available to host world class programs. There is something for everyone! It is worth checking it out at wachholzcollegecenter.org.
— Cathy Kraft, Kalispell
Social Security tax
If memory serves me correctly, when the 2019 Republican controlled Montana Legislature met a bill was passed to eliminate the income tax on Social Security recipients. The Democrat governor did not sign it stating that the state needed the income.
When the 2021 Republican controlled Montana legislature with a Republican governor met, a member of the Republican party tried to introduce a bill to eliminate the income tax on Social Security recipients. The bill never made it to the floor. My understanding was that the Republicans said the state needed the income.
In 2022, it was determined that the state had over a billion dollar surplus. Would anyone care to explain to us why this income was/is needed?
I would invite members of both parties and our governor, to come out now and explain why this tax should not be eliminated when the 2023 Legislature convenes.
— Jay Thompson, Bigfork