Dear Editor,

I recently read a Letter to the Editor in which the writer insisted that the rights granted to the people of the United States were given by God and that these God-given rights could not be taken away from us.

I prefer to give credit to people such as George Washington who led the troops to defeat the British, to Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence, and to James Madison, the writer of the Bill of Rights. Without our Constitution and Bill of Rights, we have no guaranteed rights.

If our rights are given by God, what about the rights of the black slaves in the southern states? I give credit to Abraham Lincoln for freeing these slaves when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. I credit Susan B. Anthony and the other suffragettes for finally winning the battle to give women the right to vote. Let’s not forget the brave men and women who fought in foreign wars to protect our rights and freedoms.

Our federal and state governments have given the citizens the freedoms and rights that we have, and these governments can take these rights away.

For example, in several states, the Republican governors and legislatures are taking away the right to vote from many of their citizens and/or preventing their votes from being counted.

Also, our government, by way of the Republican-appointed Supreme Court, has taken away the right of American women to control their reproductive lives.

The government gives, the government can take away.

Jean Woolums

St. Clairsville