Editorial Roundup: Nebraska

Lincoln Journal-Star. Might 25, 2022.

Editorial: Initiative guidelines have to replicate new demographics

For a poll measure to be put earlier than voters, organizers should collect signatures of 5% of the voters in 38 of the state’s 93 counties.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and ACLU of Nebraska assume that requirement robs voters within the state’s most populous counties of an equal voice, and so they’ve sued the state.

A lawsuit is their greatest and quickest software proper now. They’ve a July 7 deadline to assemble about 87,000 required signatures. However it’s a tricky slog getting required signatures in counties with low inhabitants density and few main gathering locations — in different phrases, in non-urban settings.

The lawsuit notes that now, “16 votes in Arthur County and 19 votes in Blaine County maintain energy equal to six,464 votes in Sarpy County, 11,599 votes in Lancaster County, and 19,462 votes in Douglas County.”

The lawsuit will work it’s means by means of the system, however the long-term resolution is to repair the state’s structure, which, since 1912, has spelled out that initiatives should be signed by 5% of voters in 40% of Nebraska’s counties.

This provision, after all, goals to ensure that rural voters aren’t robbed of their voices. However rather a lot has modified in Nebraska, demographically, in 110 years.

In keeping with the 1910 Census, the state’s inhabitants was virtually 1.2 million individuals. Fewer than 1 / 4 of them lived in “city territory” — labeled as communities for two,500 or extra. That meant greater than 75% of the state lived in rural areas.

Now, virtually two-thirds of Nebraskans stay in simply six counties. Sure, 5% of the voters in these counties is greater than 5% in much less populous counties, however the decrease inhabitants density makes it a lot tougher to get these few signatures.

A century in the past, a extra uniform — although smaller — distribution of individuals made that two-fifths requirement a good means to make sure a measure had broad sufficient help throughout the state to be well worth the whereas of all voters to resolve.

However with the inhabitants shift to cities, the state structure wants amending. The signature distribution necessities ought to be based mostly on system that’s dependent not on geographic boundaries — like counties — however fairly on precise and up to date inhabitants, like congressional or legislative districts.

The initiative course of is an important piece of giving Nebraskans a voice. The current lawsuit highlights an issue, and it want instant decision, however for the nice of the system, an modification to the state structure is required to carry the initiative course of into the twenty first century.

Omaha World-Herald. Might 26, 2022.

Editorial: America isn’t making an attempt laborious sufficient to cease mass shootings

America should do higher than this.

This week’s bloodbath at an elementary college in a small Texas city was one more horrific reminder that we collectively have did not take care of gun violence, an issue that continues to kill too a lot of our fellow residents.

Nineteen youngsters and two academics have been killed Tuesday in a classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

A bit of greater than per week earlier, 10 individuals have been shot in a grocery retailer in Buffalo, New York.

Time after time, these tragedies strike on a regular basis individuals in essentially the most bizarre locations — shops, church buildings, faculties. The incidents have develop into virtually mind-numbingly widespread. The nonprofit Gun Violence Archive has counted at the least 213 such shootings within the U.S. this 12 months alone, outlined as these through which 4 or extra individuals have been killed or injured. Final 12 months had 693 incidents.

Apart from the mounting toll of deaths and accidents, many different Individuals have been scarred by seeing others killed subsequent to them or having to flee for his or her lives. And so many mother and father and youngsters and pals have been left to take care of the aching lack of their family members.

If it’s potential for the scenario to be worse, think about this: Regardless of the real unhappiness that these incidents spark, our nation is not any nearer to holding them from occurring once more. To be sincere, we’re not likely making an attempt.

Already, persons are racing to their acquainted political corners, trotting out all of the previous arguments. Democrats are renewing their requires restrictions on weapons, planning to pressure votes on measures which have gone nowhere prior to now. Republicans dismiss any speak about gun laws as a full-on assault on the Second Modification. It’s a system for doing nothing.

However is that what any of us actually need? Is that how accountable individuals reply when confronted with a significant downside? No. Accountable individuals attempt to get previous the blame recreation, put apart their reflexive defensiveness, and attempt to discover actual options.

If essentially the most ardent gun management advocate and the staunchest Second Modification supporter had been collectively Tuesday in that elementary college classroom, they’d have performed something potential to cease the gunman. They might have joined forces in that second and employed no matter skills or weapons that they had accessible.

Why can’t we harness that very same spirit of cooperation and shared goal to move off future incidents?

Each time there’s a mass taking pictures, the satirical web site “The Onion” posts the identical headline on its story concerning the newest incident: “‘No Manner To Forestall This,’ Says Solely Nation The place This Often Occurs”.

In reality, our nice nation doesn’t have to simply accept mass shootings as inevitable.

However to result in change, we — and the leaders we elect to signify us — have to be prepared to work collectively. To see these mass shootings as a plague on our nation that may be lowered, even when not eradicated, by prudent measures.

It’s not useful to indicate that the thousands and thousands of accountable gun homeowners who really feel strongly about their rights are chargeable for the deaths in Texas. Not one law-abiding gun proprietor wished these youngsters to die. Not one needs to make it simpler for killers to kill.

It’s additionally not useful to say an absolutist Second Modification place that rejects any potential efforts to maintain weapons out of the arms of those that would slaughter harmless youngsters and trainer — or grocery consumers and clerks. Expanded background checks don’t take weapons away from bizarre Individuals.

Affordable individuals ought to have the ability to discover a means ahead that preserves gun rights AND makes it tougher for unhealthy or unstable individuals to acquire the sort of deadly firepower that was deployed this week by a youngster in a fourth grade classroom.

We’re unsure what such a legislation would seem like. However we predict most cheap individuals could be prepared to place up with, say, the inconvenience of a extra full background test if it would stop a number of the slaughter.

On the day of the Texas taking pictures, Sen. Chris Murphy went to the U.S. Senate ground to plead together with his colleagues to finish the deadlock. The Connecticut Democrat spoke of the 2012 mass taking pictures at Sandy Hook Elementary College in his state, which killed 20 youngsters and 6 employees members, and urged Congress to do its job.

“Why are we right here, if to not attempt to ensure that fewer faculties and fewer communities undergo what Sandy Hook has gone by means of, what Uvalde has gone by means of?” he requested.

Murphy acknowledged that Republican lawmakers may not agree together with his explicit legislative concepts. And he mentioned it’s an excessive amount of to count on any new legislation to forestall all future mass shootings.

However he mentioned it ought to be potential to search out widespread floor on some adjustments that may make mass shootings much less doubtless.

We don’t fake that effort could be simple. However it could be to our nation’s disgrace if we don’t even strive.

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