Basic freedoms are on the ballot this November. It’s abhorrent to me that candidates like Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey have compared abortion to the Holocaust and would make no exceptions, even in cases of rape or incest. It is not the role of government to force women to remain pregnant and go through labor against their will in accordance with a religious belief held by some but not all citizens in a free society. Similarly, our schools and community should have the freedom to be safe from shootings like the tragedies in Highland Park and Uvalde. Sadly, candidates including Republican congressional candidate Keith Pekau refuse to support common sense gun laws, such as universal background checks, red flag laws and assault weapons bans. I refuse to support candidates who want to regulate my daughters’ bodies but not weapons of war that have murdered school children in tragedy after tragedy. — Reid McCollum, Hinsdale
