Like most people, I was horrified by the murder of 20 children at Sandy Hook, of nine men and women at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C., and most recently the 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Like most Democrats, I am in favor of stronger gun laws, and like most Americans I am frustrated with a Congress that seems incapable of creating change. Like most people, I am a supporter of compromise.
But there is one thing I will not compromise on: My right to an abortion is not for sale. ("Abortion fosters culture of mass killing," June 16).
It has been more than 40 years since Roe v. Wade and the official recognition of a woman's right to an abortion. The decision to have an abortion is deeply personal, but more importantly, it is legally and morally mine. It cannot be taken or given away. It cannot be sold. It is not a bargaining chip in this meaningless political farce.
So I ask the conservative right: don't stoop to this level of absurd political showboating. Respect the victims of these attacks and the more than 1 million women per year who receive abortions.
Don't offer to take away our rights in exchange for closing a couple of loopholes — maybe more stringent background checks, if we're lucky — and act like you're being gracious.
You can dress it up however you want, but this is not what compromise looks like.
Kaitlyn Donaldson, College Park