To the editor:

Simple stuff first. Democracy isn’t about who’s right; it’s about what the majority thinks is right. And losing doesn’t require changing minds, just accepting the will of the majority and its right to choose our course.

So, two things.

First, thing one. Each woman has the right to decide whether she will have a child. An overwhelming majority of Americans agree. The minority has every right to continue the debate, hoping to persuade, but it cannot have its way by use of any force, including the force of law.

Nonetheless, the Republican minority continues passing laws restricting women’s rights. Republican politicians are using the power of their offices to thwart democracy and limit individual freedom. This must be front and center on every ballot in November. We must vote against Republicans — each and every one — until their party proves it can respect democracy.

Now, thing two. In 236 years of American Constitutional existence few Americans ever thought, much less claimed, that presidents are above the law. But this week six Republican politicians used the power of their office to tell us otherwise. Presidents, we’re now told, are henceforth immune from criminal punishment. Trump might not get away with shooting someone on Fifth Avenue, but he can get away with ordering a soldier to do so. The most powerful man among us has rights the rest of us do not.

We must vote these Republicans out. We must strip the Republican Party of its ability to protect those with the greatest power while oppressing the rest.

William Skepnek,

Lawrence