Let blame fall where it should

To the editor:A Feb. 5 article told of a dispute between House Speaker Rod Jetton and state Rep. Scott Lipke. In a Feb. 6 letter, Jetton said his feelings were hurt by Lipke. As one who has written laws in Pennsylvania on this same topic, I feel I know a little on about what has happened and think that the issue that Jetton brought up should never have happened.

From September 1985 through May 1987 I was on the then-attorney general's Family Violence Task Force in Pennsylvania. There were approximately 30 people on the committee. It was a long, hard task rewriting laws, a majority directed at the protection of children and dealing with sexual violence against them and the family. We all searched for a better way, deleting old absolute laws with new and better ones. We looked at other state and federal laws so we wouldn't be redundant.

Remembering all this, I think Lipke has saved Missouri in his actions of taking out the 14 words in question.

It seems like many in the statehouse are not paying attention to the bills. If the workload is too much, we should have elected someone who would be more diligent. One shouldn't put the blame on someone who is doing right as I think Lipke was doing.

I don't agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, but there is nothing I can do about that. So let's let the blame fall where it should, and that is on Jetton.

ANDY WIESNER, Marble Hill, Mo.