Free speech

Most who know me think I am strictly a conservative but I’ve always self-identified as center-right. The recent killing of Charlie Kirk shows how we cannot and should not let this kind of political violence be normalized. We should all be free to speak and listen to other points of view. Kirk was killed for his opinions. This is not what democracy is all about.

I recently read two news stories in the Boston Herald concerning a recent call by the Massachusetts Teachers Association not to punish  or suspend public school teachers for expressing their own personal points of view over the killing of Charlie Kirk during a student rally at a Utah college supporting free speech.

While I find what some public school teachers have posted on social media as being quite repulsive, I do agree with the Massachusetts Teachers Association, we should not be suspending or firing public employees for expressing an unpopular viewpoint. Charlie Kirk himself would be opposed to firing teachers over online comments. He knew the answer to  bad speech is more speech. His life was dedicated to open discussion of viewpoints, gathering peacefully, exchanging all kinds of opinions and the ability to work through our differences. without resorting to hate or violence.

The Bill of Rights within the US Constitution prohibits any government action from stripping its citizens of our free speech rights under the First Amendment.

On the issue of what to do about public school teachers who post stupid or hateful opinions online? Even they have a right to be stupid under the First Amendment. That is the beauty of living in a nation that values everyone’s free speech and what separates us from the rest of the world.

Sal Giarratani

East Boston

Fighting addiction

To help break the cycle of addiction, the state needs to oversee the expenditure of opioid settlement funds. The funds are available not only for harm reduction, but for recovery. As the owner of a non-profit MASH certified sober recovery house for men, I have made numerous presentations and sent much correspondence to local towns, most of them “saving” the funds for some unknown project or reason or they don’t know how to spend them.

Although we are located in Wrentham, we have had over 250 men stay at Gilly’s House from over 70 communities in Massachusetts and 5 other states. We rely on the generosity of the public to sustain the level of commitment we have to our residents. The opioid settlement funds would also provide much needed assistance to residents like scholarships to enter a sober house, transportation to work and appointments, and recovery support services. We believe that the men who enter Gilly’s House have the opportunity to build productive lives in recovery.

Barbara Gillmeister

Gilly’s House, Inc.

Wrentham