Shaffer: State Sen. Ford wrong for admonishing any group of citizens

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Dear Editor:

State Sen. J.D. Ford stepped way out of bounds in his letter to the editor (June 23, “State Sen. Ford calls on Hamilton County’s Statehouse delegation to condemn Moms for Liberty”).

As an elected official, Ford should be ashamed of himself for attacking a group of citizens advocating anything under the sun.

The group apologized for its ill-advised reference to a dead dictator.

A gentleman would accept the apology and move on – maybe to figuring out how to control out-of-control abuses of the state’s tax incremental financing laws.

Ford claims he is “growing incredibly concerned by the increasing normalization of fascism, antisemitism, and hateful rhetoric, which we know from history will only ever lead to ugly outcomes.” Really?

This exaggerated posturing ignores the apology and is an absurd bullying of a group which calls itself Moms for Liberty.

I’m not a member of the Moms group, being a non-mom myself. But I write because I dislike minor league politicians trying to score points as Ford is doing.

Why a state senator opposes moms for anything seems a bit of hateful rhetoric in a free country where anyone has the liberty to speak out on anything under the sun.

Bill Shaffer
Carmel