Legal protection of domestic partnerships
Re: “Civil unions and wills,” July 17 Open Forum.
Letter-writer Clay Berger chastised The Post for supporting civil unions because The Post wrote that the unions would protect inheritance rights. Berger writes, “… every person of sound mind has the right to leave their property to whomever they choose.”
I wish it were that simple. My partner and I drew up wills almost immediately after we decided to build a life together as a committed couple. But how many times have you heard of family members contesting a will?
But we face an even bigger threat. Here in Colorado, Will Perkins of Amendment 2 fame is proposing a vague constitutional amendment that would ban “any legal status similar to marriage.” Could a judge determine that the wills my partner and I have are too similar to the wills of a husband and wife and therefore not legal?
And it doesn’t stop there. Unlike most straight married couples, my partner and I also have medical powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, and living wills. But once again, the best of contracts can be contested, and if the Perkins amendment passes, even those documents are vulnerable to a judge’s interpretation.
Our only legal hope is domestic partnerships.
Janice Branam, Boulder
Rep. Bob Beauprez’s candidacy for governor
The nickname “Both Ways Bob” that has been stuck on Rep. Bob Beauprez is an unfair one. For a politician to change positions on an issue takes a lot of courage. I read the letter he submitted stating why he changed stances on the proposed Amendment 38. It showed how much research and input he considered on that issue. We should be glad that our elected officials take that much time to research the issues to make a sound decision on what is best for the citizens. To think that the political climate stays stagnant over time is ignorant. Times change and so do the situations that affect different issues.
Jeff Haifley, Grand Junction
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One of the privileges that our congressmen and senators enjoy is the franking privilege on mail, which they use to respond to constituents about letters or to send promotional literature on legislation they or others are sponsoring. In the past few years, we have written letters to our congressman, Bob Beauprez, on legislation that we have concerns with, such as pork in the transportation bill, and have received bland letters in return (“I appreciate hearing … I am committed … blah … blah”). We receive flyers on Medicare Part D, touting it as a great accomplishment by Congress.
To some extent, we expect this from our “me-too” congressman, but the latest escapade has us concerned on the ethics of election finance. We have recently received letters that match past responses to letters we wrote in the distant past. We now realize that the purpose is to put Beauprez’s name in front of us regularly to get name recognition in his race for governor. We don’t believe other candidates elsewhere get that “free advertisement.” We must be naive.
John L. Tracy, Golden
The danger of using cellphones on the road
Re: “Don’t dial and drive,” July 24 editorial.
I am in complete agreement with your editorial. I don’t think I have made a single trip of any distance in the past five years without having some kind of negative encounter with a motorist who was using his or her motor vehicle as a phone booth.
I have had to dodge and swerve and veer, and I would bet dimes to donuts that a high percentage of them had no idea that an accident might have been barely avoided or that their inconsistent speeds, failure to signal, and general myopia had affected anyone.
New York state prohibits the use of cellphones in automobiles. We are not that luminous. Some high- profile individuals would have to get run into or run over before anything would be done – maybe Mayor John Hickenlooper and a few of the Broncos.
Craig Marshall Smith, Highlands Ranch
World trade talks
On Monday, world trade talks in Geneva fell apart, with no clear indication on when they could begin again. Because of this, any worldwide deal on trade between the poorest developing countries and the richest developed counties seems further out of reach than it has been in years.
We have seen that poor countries cannot survive on aid alone. Developing countries need debt relief, improved aid, and fair trade that allows them to export their goods to a wide market.
Despite the fact that a fraction of our own farmers may suffer, the United States must take the lead. We need to drop tariffs on imported sugar, cotton and other Third World goods. And we need to stop paying subsidies that give American farmers an unfair advantage.
If we are brave enough to make the first move, developing countries will open their markets to our medical and technological goods and services.
It is difficult to bring economic suffering to hard-working Americans. But it is impossible to do nothing while one person dies every three seconds as a result of extreme poverty.
Ben Bleckley, Fort Collins
Embryos, cells and life
Re: “Destroying embryos,” July 25 Open Forum.
Letter-writer Donna Jorgenson Farrell writes: “For those who say that the embryos are only a ‘collection of cells,’ I would respond, ‘So am I. So are you.”‘
However, I am imbued with prescient and sentient qualities handed out by evolution to humans according only me, and not embryos, the ability to foretell the consequences my conduct will create and the ability to know I exist.
Richard Grimes, Denver
Tests, not cures
Re: “Free tests offered to halt colon cancer,” July 25 news story.
I don’t guess I’ve ever seen a more misleading headline than the one on this story. It’s certainly a common misconception that medical tests are preventives, but it should not be perpetuated in a newspaper. Tests detect – or rather, properly designed, administered and interpreted tests detect – they don’t prevent. It’s a distinction often ignored, and by folks who should know better.
Christine Dice, Lafayette
7th CD candidate’s environmental record
Much has been made of the contentious Democratic primary in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, but in the wake of some recent negative campaign material, I feel it’s important to set things straight regarding Ed Perlmutter’s environmental record. Ed has been enthusiastically endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters due to his strong environmental advocacy and emphasis on responsible development as a state senator. Ed is a trustee for the Midwest Research Institute, the primary operator of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory located in Golden. Ed also served as the chair of the Colorado legislature’s Bipartisan Renewable Energy Caucus.
Ed Perlmutter has been an effective leader with environmental and energy issues, and he offers precisely the kind of strong advocacy that Congress desperately needs in these areas.
Nicholas J. Kiewik, Boulder
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